Cryptid Teen Years
by KaliAnn
Summary: Sequel to Monster Puberty. Six and half months later, Zak Saturday leaves his home on journey of self discovery. With unusual allies and frightening new powers, can Zak stop his apocalyptic vision from coming to pass or will his family and friends die?
1. Start of a Journey

_Screams. People everywhere were screaming and running in a panic. The earth was quaking under his feet as he watched giant Lambton Worms burst out of the ground, ready to coil around and squeeze the life out of anything in the pass. Through the smoky, red sky Zak could make out the outline of a dozen flying creatures ranging from small Cinnmologus birds to giant terrifying Rocs who swooped down, and carried off humans for dinner._

_ "NO! Stop! I command you! I am Kur! Obey me!" Zak shouted, over the screeches and roars of the creatures, but it did no good. They refused to obey him, almost as if they couldn't. The young twelve year old raced through the destroyed city hoping to find his family and friends, but they were nowhere to be seen. "Mom! Dad! Doyle! Where are you? Fisk, Komodo, Zon if you can hear me answer me!" _

_ A dark chuckle sounded behind followed by a creepy voice saying, "They're dead my young Saturday. I killed them myself along with the Secret Scientist," Argost informed the boy. His mask was off, but Zak was unable to make out his face clearly in the smoke. Ignoring the orange glow building up around the boy Argost continued speaking. "You have lost child! Everything you have ever cared about has been reduced to ashes, the beloved cryptids you swore an oath to protect, are now under my command. The human race in on the verge of extinction because you were too weak to stop me. The world is doomed because you failed _Kur_! Your Kur abilities and your pathetic magic are no match for me! Die!" The TV personality shouted, his eyes glowing green. A burst of green energy rocketed through the air ready to incinerate him._

_ Zak stood his ground, holding the Claw out in defense, his eyes glowing bright orange. He muttered a few Hindu words under his breath creating a shield to defend him. As the attack wore down on him Zak spoke again, with great effort. "I won't let this future come to pass Argost! I'll stop you even if I have to change history to do it! Ahhhhhh!" the Kurling screamed as he was obliterated from the face of the Earth._

Zak Saturday shot upright in his bed, panting heavily with sweat pouring down his face. His two familiars, Cercrops and Kitchi-At'husis, a garter and ringneck snake, hissed at being disturbed from their slumber. Since taking up residence with the former King of the Nagas, they had been reluctant to leave the boy's side. It took all his powers of persuasion to keep them out of sight and away from his family. Even after six and half months, Zak hadn't told the Secret Scientists everything about what happened when he went through his monster puberty.

"It's bad enough that Beakman and Gray wanted to ice me after my latest screw up, but I didn't need to hear that Epsilon and Frances were thinking about taking me away to their HQ to train me. I'd go nuts if I had to wear that shade of green all the time. Still I feel bad. You guys think its time I tell Mom and Dad my little secret? I think Mom's suspicious after how quickly I healed from that Endrop's bite in Romania two months ago. She didn't exactly buy my whole argument that water horses can't bite hard on flesh."

Cercrops raised his head and spoke telepathically in Zak's mind. _"Secrets are hard to keep my dear Kur, but in this case a necessity. Your parents already struggle against the forces of the Secret Scientists. Should they learn of your special gifts to conversant with us or ability to heal quickly they would most certainly freeze you. Something no cold blooded creature wants."_

_ "He's warm blooded you idiot. The only time he's cold blooded is when he's attempting to regain his old Naga form through his magical training. You're improving greatly young one. If that stupid furry gorilla and our cousins hadn't barged in while you were meditating I think you could have unlocked that form. Who knows you might gain better control over your mystical powers," _Kitchi-At'husis interjected. Before the two could start bickering again Zak handed each of them a rat to keep them quite. _"Thank you, young Master."_

"No problem Kitchi-At'husis. Komodo has plenty more where those came from. Just try to keep out of his way. I don't want to have to distract him from hunting you again. I'm going to go check on the rest of the family. You two wait here," Zak instructed his familiars, quickly pulling on a bathrobe and tiptoeing out of the room.

As Zak headed for the main computer lab his thoughts turned back to his dream or vision as he was beginning to think of it. He had had the same dream now for over a month. Each time the vision got more vivid. Was his vision of the future true? If that was the case then how did Argost gain the ability to control cryptids? What was that green light and why couldn't he see his face?"

Zak was so deep in thought he nearly ran into a door, but stopped when he heard yelling going on. It sounded like his entire family was in the lab. "Wonder what's they're talking about. I bet my allowance it's me. Hmm, time to try out that new spell I've been working on." Muttering Hindi under his breath, Zak shimmered before becoming completely invisible and started hovering a foot off the floor. He had to work fast. He could only maintain the spell for fifteen minutes.

"NO WAY IN THE WORLD ARE YOU GOING TO DO THAT BEEMAN!" Doc shouted, angrily at the screen. "I thought we were past all this! Zak has improved greatly with his Kur powers. Why are you threatening to take him away from us and freeze him now?"

"He started a stampede in the Chezch Republic, when he failed to contain his powers. Every water demon in the country reacted to his power surge! It took us twelve hours and whole lot of money to silence everyone about that. Before that Spiky Lock's managed to cause two hippogriffs to invade a summer camp. The list goes on and on. Salt and Pepper is not gaining control of his powers, but losing them!"

"Drew, Doc you're to close to the situation, but you must realize that Zak has become a danger to everyone around him. The powers of Kur are just too much for a twelve year old to control. We need to lock him up until we can figure out a way to remove the power from him," Gray tried to reason with them, but they wouldn't hear it.

"Don't you _dare_ talk to me as if you know what I'm going through Miranda! This is not the same as when your sister decided to become a mercenary partner with Van Rook! My son is not the enemy here! Locking him up like a criminal and experimenting on him is _not_ how we operate!"

"Do any of you braniacs think you can forget about the Mini Man for a few minutes and focus on the real problem? In case you haven't taken a look outside recently, the whole world is proclaiming that one V.V. Argost is alive and well. An old buddy of mine had a confirmed sighting of him and Munya at Loch Ness a few days ago. Instead of worrying about Zak losing control we should be thinking of a way to take him down once and for all!" Doyle argued. He was getting ticked off with how far the good guys were willing to go on the off chance Zak would turn on them.

"That is precisely the reason that Zak should be kept in a secure facility where he can be monitored and protected at all times!" Dr. Mizuki roared, his Hebagon nature getting the best of him as he smashed apart his desk. In the background his tiger roared in agreement.

"I offer once again to take Zak under my wing. I'm sure with Francis help he'll be mastering his powers in a matter of days," Epsilon offered. He was ignoring Francis sticking a finger down his throat in the background at the mere thought of being in the same room as Zak.

"Over my dead body! It's _my duty_ to guard Zak! You won't take him away from us!"

"Back off before I eat you!" Komodo threatened.

"That goes for me too!" Zon screeched, despite the fact no one, but Zak had a clue what she was saying. The arguing continued on with the threats getting greater and greater. No one noticed the doors open and close softly. They were all to focused on what to do about the "Kur Problem."

Back in Zak's room both Cercrops and Kitchi-At'husis eyed their master suspiciously. Zak was packing a large knapsack full of a number of items including; food, clothes, money, and books on magic and cryptids. Once that was done he removed all his clothing and electronics. He put on a pair of dark green pants, a navy hoodie, and a brown cloak. After checking for any tracking device he sat at his desk and started writing a letter. The two familiars slithered over and wrapped themselves around the Claw until it resembled the caduceus. Both were curious what their young master was doing.

As if reading their thoughts the young Saturday told his familiars his plans. "I'm leaving home guys and going a journey of self discovery. I'm putting my entire family in danger by staying here and if the Secret Scientist have their way I'll never see daylight again. I need to go somewhere I can learn to control my abilities without harming anyone. Maybe find someone who can teach me. I'm not running away because of what they said really. My visions are telling me something evil is lurking in the shadows. If I'm going to be the hero I need to learn to stand on my own."

"_Leaving the safety of home is dangerous young one. Since your reawakening six months ago many treacherous cryptids have awoken. The increase in activity is due to your growing power. Without your Lemurian guardian or you parents to protect you how are you going to quell the up rise? Only are cousins the Nagas could help you now. Sadly, they are no more thanks to your Dr. __Paganastan formula they all perished," _Cercrops hissed.

"I know Cercrops, but I haven't been missing sleep for nothing. I stumbled upon a ritual that would bring back all the Nagas in one of mom's books. If done correctly those serpents will have to obey my every word. This means I don't have to worry about them raging war on the human race. There it's finished, we have to hurry. I know the Secret Scientist are monitoring the house at all times so were going to have to use alternative means of leaving. I know I'm taking a big risk here, but if I don't the whole world could be doomed. You understand you two?"

"_We understand Kur and will accompany you in your brother's steed. We know a way to leave the area unseen, but we must move fast. Put everyone in a deep sleep and let's hurry," _Kitchi-At'husis informed him. Zak smiled and cupped his hands muttering under his breath the words to a sleeping spell. A blue white globe of energy formed in his hands. It floated out of his hand and through the wall until it found its target. Thankfully the conversation with the SS was over as the globe exploded showing the Saturday family. They struggled to keep their eyes open, but soon succumbed to sleep leaving Zak free to leave the compound.

Zak stealthily made his way towards the cliffs, careful to stay out of camera range. His snake friends told him when to use the Claw to disable a hidden sensor. Finally he arrived at the cliff and used his Kur powers to call for a ride. He didn't have to wait long as the Oshadagea, or dew eagle, swooped down. The bird was large enough to carry the boy on its head if he persuaded it right.

"Hey there, I know you don't I? Dad told me all about you. How the Iroquois people say you live in the western sky keeping an eye out for fires. If you spot on you'll release the pond on your back to put it out and give the earth fertility again. Can you help me out please? I have to get to the other side of the world and if use mortal means I'll be discovered. Please help I want to protect you," Zak whispered, his eyes glowing bright orange as his power washed over him. He could feel it building up and was afraid it would escape his grasp. The connection was about to be broken when the Oshadagea lowered its head offering a ride for Kur. "Thanks I owe you. Now let's go." With a flap of its wings the cryptid and Zak were gone.

Hours later the Saturday family would be awoken to a loud and excessive knocking on their front door, followed closely by said door being blown off its hinges. Instantly the whole family was alert. Drew had her fire sword out with flames leaping off the tip. Doc cocked his fist back, his battle glove ready to incinerate something. Doyle had at least six concussive grenades ready while the Cryptids looked ready to rip to shreds the intruders. When the smoke cleared the family saw every Secret Scientist armed to the teeth ready to pull the trigger first sign of movement.

"What is the meaning of this?! How dare you come here and invade my home! I want to know what this is about right now!" Doc demanded angrily. He was tired of getting pushed around by the others. "I'll give you to the count of three. One, two..."

"Why don't you cut the crap and tell us where the little monster is!" Beamman retorted his ray gun looked ready to explode. Dr. Bara gently, shoved the space dude's arms down and told him to calm down.

"David's right Arthur, getting emotional will solve nothing. Doc, Drew I'm sorry about invading your house, but we had no choice. Shortly after we finished our "conversation" our satellite feed on your property went dead. The tracking devices that we put in Zak stopped transmitting. We have reason to suspect that he left the property."

"You were watching us? You had my baby tagged! What kind of friends are you?!" Drew shouted angrily. Flames leapt off her sword tip and nearly scorching Odelie and Cheecho.

Ignoring his sister's rant, Doyle decided to get to the bottom of this. "What do you mean Mini Man's not here? He's sleeping in his room right now! I'm surprised your explosions didn't wake him up."

"Not so Mr. Blackwell. Up until 11: 50 last night all our surveillances on Kur were functioning properly. Then for some reason they stop working and we were unable to get them back online until early this morning. When we ran a diagnostic on the equipment we could find no reason for a power failure. Once more there is no record of Kur in the house or outside it after that time period. Somehow the boy managed to disappear in thin air. We are here to find out where he went before we lock him up for study," Epsilon informed him.

The cryptid Saturdays were up in arms. They growled threats and would have attacked if Drew and Doyle hadn't held them back. While everyone started yelling and screaming at one another Doc had slipped out of the room to check on Zak. He came back in the room carrying a letter and looking grim. Everyone shut up fast as they waited for him explain. Drew looked at her husband, tears threatening to fall should he deliver bad news.

"Doc what is it? Where's Zak? Where's my baby?"

"He's gone Drew, he left last night. I found money missing from the safe along with his documents. This was next to his cryptidpedia. You need to read this _outloud_." Drew, shaking, took the letter and started reading out loud.

_Dear Mom, Dad and everyone else,_

_I've been debating over what to do since discovering I'm Kur. I know that the Secret Scientist don't trust me and they fear my abilities. They believe that learning to control my powers is impossible and that I will doom the world. Well, I have to admit their fears are well founded. I _can't_ learn to control my powers, at least not here. I know that everyone has been trying to help me, but the truth is no human can possibly help me understand what or who I am. If my monster puberty taught me anything I need to learn how to survive my own. So I'm leaving on a journey of self discovery. I'm going to travel the world on my own without the help of technology or the SS in order to learn how to master my powers. I know what you're going to say. I'm too young or it's too dangerous, but I have to do this Mom, Dad. My powers have been showing me disturbing visions of the future and Argost. I have to do what I can to prevent them from coming true. Don't worry about me and please don't look for me. I took Doyle's Naga artifact and I've done something to prevent Fisk from finding me. I'll be okay. Secret Scientist, I know your hearing this so I beg you, please let me be! I promise I won't destroy the world, but I need time and space to learn more about my powers. I don't know if you'll believe me and I have an inkling that you're going to come after me. Just know I _will_ defend myself should you attack. I hope that when we all meet again it will be under better circumstances. Until then goodbye and I love you. _

_Sincerely Zak Saturday aka Kur._

"Your son has runaway! The entire world is in danger because you were to soft hearted. I don't care what Zak said we are going to hunt him down and capture him no matter what," Gray told the distraught family.

"I'm sorry it has come to this Doc, Drew, but we can't take a chance when it comes to Zak. If you won't help us capture him then you're against us. I wish it didn't come to this. Goodbye," Dr. Paganastan spoke gently to the parents. With one final glance at the Saturday Family, the SS packed up and left. The hunt for Kur had begun.

Drew was weeping uncontrollably. She couldn't understand why her son had left. She was also worried about what would happen to him now that the SS were out for blood. "What are we….going…. to…. do Doc? Zak's out there all alone. We have no way to find him! He could be anywhere!"

"Shush, don't worry I know it looks bad, but we will find our son and bring him home safely. He couldn't have gone far on foot. We'll find him and then he's grounded."

"Yeah don't worry Mom," Fisk said.

"Zak's a fighter. Those Secret Scientist don't stand a chance!" Komodo growled. Zon screeched in agreement. Doyle put a supportive hand on his sister's shoulder. "I promise you sis we aren't going to lose anymore family. I think its time I call in a favor to an old friend of mine. He'll help us track down Zak don't worry."

_One Week Later: Underwater Caves in Thailand._

A tired and hungry Zak Saturday was preparing a magical ritual with the help of scores of snakes. His journey from America hadn't been easy. The Oshadagea could only carry him part of the way. He had no choice, but to call for a ride from an undine (water spirit) to carry him the rest of the way. He then backpacked from Europe to India to Thailand. All along the way he'd been practicing using his Kur powers to calm and control cryptids. He had developed a bit more control managing to get rides through countries. Now he had reached his destination, Bhogavatie, the original home of the Nagas.

"Careful with those lotus blossoms! If we lose one petal then the ritual will not work," Zak warned the cobras assisting him. In order to resurrect the Naga race it would take a combination of magic and Kur power. At the moment he was placing lotus flowers on the mosaic on the floor. The picture showed the history of the Nagas. After painting them with blue dye and mixing a potion of Ganges River water, his blood, scales from the corpses of Nagas, and a few other elements he was ready to begin.

"Okay be ready to defend me, but if _any_ of them challenge me you can't interfere. _Great Goddess Shiva hear my plea. I humbly ask you to lend me your power. Oh Holy Nagas, I your King Vasuki, summon you back to the world of the living. Come forth now and obey my commands!"_ Zak chanted. A blue light glowed under the hood of his cloak and his lit up bright orange along with the Claw in his right hand. His body was outlined in black as repeated the chant. His familiars and their brethren added him by letting poison drip out of their fangs onto the floor speeding up the process. Zak groaned in pain as his body felt the strain of trying to mix his Kur power with magic. "Just a little more, please…Ah!"

A column of orange and black light filled the cavern. Skeletons popped out of the ground and flesh started appearing on the bodies. The blue light entered their mouths returning their souls to them. When the light vanished thousands of Nagas appeared healthy and alive once more.

"We live again my brethren! Today is a day to celebrate!" Rani Naga cheered. Memories of her last hours of life before that fleshling's poison killed her filled her mind. She wanted nothing more, but to make the human race pay.

"My Queen how is it that we are alive and back in our ancestral home? We died in Nagred, not Bhogavatie," Thaman questioned. Not that he was complaining to be alive again.

"Yes and how all our extinct brethren are with us too. How is this possible?" Anand added.

"Powerful dark magic would have raised a few of us. To bring us back to power of full strength would have taken the abilities of a powerful cryptid," Hara spoke up.

"It did," a voice behind them said. All the Nagas turned to see Zak Saturday standing on a rock surrounded by snakes observing him. The Nagamani shone brilliantly on his head and his neck and face were covered in black and orange scales. The Nagas were confused wondering what was going on. "It is good to see you again. I resurrected you because I am in need of your assistance. You see…"

"Why should we listen to a fleshling! You are the reason we all died back in Nagred! Your human family destroyed us! You have no authority here!" Nag'arjuna roared. All his hatred and jealousy of Zak came rushing back. "We should kill you for your impotence!"

"Are you challenging me Nag'arjuna? I, who am Kur the ruler of all cryptids, I who possess the Nagamani and am mated to the Queen Rani? Whose blood was used to bring you back thus binding your wills to mine? You dare think you can challenge me?" Zak hissed darkly. He eyed the male sizing him up. "If you think you can beat me go ahead and try it!"

"I accept your challenge. Prepare to die!" Nag'arjuna shouted, slamming his massive tail into the rock destroying it, but Zak had already shot out the Claw to zip away. Extending the end he used it like a lever to push as statue on top of Nag'arjuna intent on crushing him. The former prince of the Naga obliterated the falling artwork with his dark magic. Sparks of magic nailed Zak in the shoulder; he winced in pain as his wound closed. Dropping to the ground he used his Kur powers to hold Nag'arjuna in place so he could heel kick him before delivering a right hook to his jaw.

Nag'arjuna was sprawled on the ground, one fang less and bleeding. "You will die child!"

"Not today!" Zak yelled, unscrewing the bottom of the Claw to reveal his newly installed dagger. Without a moment's hesitation Zak drove the blade into Nag'arjuna heart, twisting it until the Naga died. Removing the blade he wiped the blood on his pants and looked at the Nagas who were bowing in awe. "Does anyone else have a problem with my authority?"

"No one will challenge your power my beloved Kur. Thanks to you we will finally rule the world as we are meant to!" Rani purred, as she wrapped the boy gently in his coils. Zak used his Kur powers to get her to release him.

"Not exactly my beloved. After all weren't you the one who said I was a creature of two worlds? To cross the divide that was my previous incarnations doom? If I am to be king I wish to rule both humans and cryptids fairly. I came to ask your help with my powers, both Kur and magical. In exchange you and your brethren will help me stop Argost from destroying the human race. Should you do what I ask then I promise you no cryptid will ever be hunted down again. Equal rights for both human and cryptids is my goal and considering my human blood runs through your veins it should be yours my love," Zak told her confidently. All around him his snake familiars hissed in agreement. Seeing as they had no choice the bargain was struck. Zak had taken the first step on a journey of a thousand miles to controlling his powers.


	2. Teenage Test Drive

Deep in the underwater city of Bhogavatie, a young Kurling was practicing his magical powers under the careful eyes of his magical mentor Thaman, Zak Saturday was growing quite adept in his abilities. It had been three weeks since he revived the Nagas, a month total since he had left home. He had regrets and concerns for his family, but deep down he knew that he'd made the right choice when he left them. At the moment the young adolescents was still wearing his dark green pant, along with an Indian purple vest and a gold circlet on his head. Along with his scaly face and neck he had regrown his fangs and his hair reached down his back, but otherwise he was still normal.

At the moment Zak was attempting to levitate a heavy statue. His hands were covered in a soft, black glow as he invoked his magical powers. The same glow was wrapped around the base of the statue, which was hovering three feet off the ground. A trickle of sweat poured down his face and his knees nearly buckled under the strain, "I…can't…hold it…any longer ah!" The strain became too much and Zak lost control, the statue smashing to bits as it crashed into the ground. He pounded the ground in frustration. "Ugh why can't I do this? It's just a stupid levitating spell!"

"My King, you should not feel disappointed with what you assume is a lack of progress. During these past three weeks you have made tremendous progress in all areas. Your Kur powers have increased their range and you have finally managed to connect with cryptids without making eye contact. Your formal/cryptid education, something that shouldn't be neglected if you're going to rule both humans and cryptids, has been coming along nicely. B Don't worry that your magical powers are not as strong as you would like them to be. We should leave this for now and check in with your lieutenants. They may have something new to report," Thaman informed his King. He was impressed by how powerful Zak had become in a short time. Offering his Majesty a ride on his blue green body, the two of them headed for the throne room.

As they traveled through the palace Zak couldn't help, but smile as the Nagas bowed and revered him. Blood ties or not they had been _very_ reluctant at first to follow his ideals. It had taken all his patience and emulating his parents to finally bring them around to his way of thinking. He understood that it was in their nature to despise humans, but after reminding them how humans worshiped them they had become more cooperated. As he entered the throne room he could feel the love, literally, coming from his beloved Rani Naga. Once you got past her demanding attitude and her vicious streak she was actually a nice person to be with. Still he would never admit this, but he missed Wadi and her sense of humor and adventure.

"Ah my young Kur, how were your lessons today? Have you mastered any new powers yet my King?" Rani inquired playfully, as Zak took his throne. His familiars Cercrops and Kitchi-At'husis wrapped themselves around his Claw while the rest of the snakes rested comfortably around his feet.

"I'm fine honey thanks for asking. While I was busy studying what were you up to? Terrorizing the people again?"

"I will never understand your sense of humor. Do you want me to attack you?"

"Ah I know you love me. Hara, Anand, Rana, Rohini report!" Zak ordered his trusted advisors and lieutenants. When they all started speaking at once, let his Kur powers flair telling them to knock it off. Muttering about how hard it was to be King, Zak motioned for Hara to begin his report on Argost.

"My lord I wish I had more to report, but I don't have muchhhhhhhhh. The cursed Argost reappeared in New York City during our attempt to quell an uprising of enraged Cryptids that he released in the city. It was obvious the bastard was trying to draw you out, but thankfully we managed to quell the uprising for the most part before your parents showed up. Before you ask I can assure you they did not see us. As for Argost he is broadcasting again, his latest show going on about the Ahuizotl. It a trap to draw you out my lord! He will be awaiting you in Mexico, maybe even the Secret Scientists!" Hara reported. The young Naga was eager to prove his worth to his King and be rewarded greatly for discovering the truth about Argost.

"So you still haven't found anything about Argost. This is troublesome. If we're to prevent my vision of Argost ruling the world from coming true we need more information. Hara, double your efforts into finding _anything _you can about Argost. The man did not just appear from the top of mountain! Also look into the Ahuizotl situation. See if you can put it back in the box. If all goes well maybe we can get that village to help us."

"You're very wise Kur."

"Zak, how many times have I asked you to call me by my name? Anand, what can you tell me about my family? How are they, gulp, holding up without me?"

"They are very worried for you my King, but they have not fallen into depression. Your uncle and sister have joined force with the hunter Van Rook to track you down while your parents and brothers try to deal with the SS and cryptids. They are managing quite well, but we have some close calls. They are desperate to find you," Anand explained patiently. Observing the family of Kur had opened his eyes to why it was important for both humans and cryptids to work together. Anand could see how his words affect the King, but he was impressed how the twelve and half year old boy handled the news. "Should I send some of my troops after your uncle?"

"Yes, to keep an eye on him, not to kill him! I don't want my family hurt. When I'm ready to see them again, then you can bring them to me. Rana, Rohini your reports please," Zak commanded, addressing his only female lieutenants. It was rare for a female who wasn't queen to rise to such a position, but he trusted them with his life.

"It has not been easy to deal with the Secret Scientists. They are using all the power to track you down my King. Still we have managed to stall them and even give them false leads. They will never harm you my lord," Rana said.

"Our recruitment has been coming along slowly. You know many cryptids are reluctant to trust humans or they harm them. I promise you though that you will have an army loyal to you when the time comes to face Argost you will win! After he's gone then we can move forward with your plan to rule both humans and cryptids," Rohini added.

"Keep up the good work. Rohini, I want you to find me a cryptid sighting out there for me to practice my powers on."

"My Lord it's too dangerous for you to leave! Your enemies and family will be after you!"

"Unless I face cryptids my powers won't grow. Besides how can I can the trust of the cryptids and humans if I don't mingle with them? I'll be in my chambers resting until you have a cryptid for me. Rani? Are you coming?" Zak asked. She nodded and they dismissed the troops before heading to their chambers for a little fun.

"_Ohh the boss is going to get some action!" _Kitchi-At'husis hissed.

"_Shut up before he decides to send us away!" _Cercrops retorted.

Zak ignored their quips and entered his shared chambers. It was massive. High vaulted ceilings, candle all over the room and luxurious furniture. In the center of the room was a huge queen sized bed that the couple shared. Rani was eager to have sex with him again and get knocked up but Zak was strongly against it. He pointed out that technically he was a virgin because it was his Naga form that mated with her and besides he was still a kid. Rani reluctantly accepted she would have to wait until he was eighteen to have sex. That didn't mean they couldn't have a little fun in the meantime.

Rani had Zak wrapped up in her coils and was nibbling on his neck. Zak responded by kissing her scales and scratching her scales causing her to moan in pleasure. He arched back and his eyes started glowing orange entering Rani's mind. He read her heart and soul letting her love for him fill his body. "Man, most teens would be over the moon for something like this."

"If you would allow it, I could pleasure you even more. You and I are king and queen. Why deny yourselves the pleasures of being the king of all cryptids? You're half cryptid yourself my lover have you forgotten that?"

"Have you forgotten that I'm half human as well? Rani, I love you, but I'm still a kid. I'm not sure of what I want right now. It's not you really I promise you that."

"Are seriously still thinking of that human girl? What is so attractive about a thief? I mean she stole your belt and embarrassed you remember?"

"Wadi is not just a thief! She's a good friend, has a sense of humor, and is a lot of fun! I don't want to talk about this right now okay? Just trust me that I won't leave you," Zak told her, using his powers to free himself. He walked over to the desk and sat down confused by his feelings. Cercrops and Kitchi-At'husis joined him comforting the confused boy. It couldn't be easy for him trying to learn how to be a magical, cryptid controlling ruler of two worlds.

Rani eyeballed the boy and felt familiar a familiar frustration growing inside her. It wasn't just the blood ties spell that prevented her from attacking the human world. She truly did care for the boy and he had reminded her that humans did worship her kind. That didn't change the past, but maybe it could change the future. Both royals were interrupted from their musings with a knock on the chamber doors. The doors opened revealing Rohini. "What is it my faithful servant? Do you have news for us?"

"Rani Naga, King Kur, I have found a cryptid for your use. It's called the Beast of Gevaudin. This creature is found in south east France. In the year 1764-7 it terrorized the citizens until King Luis XV ordered his soldiers to kill it. It was brought down finally and its corpse sent to Paris. Those idiots never realized that the Beast has the ability to regenerate and create duplicates of itself. My King, the creature has returned once more. We must act quickly if you want to use your powers safely and without the possibility of being found by your enemies."

"Good, I just mastered the glamour spell, but how the heck are we going to get from Thailand to France quickly without an airship?"

"Leave that to us mighty Kur. I would be honored if you allow me to accompany you on this quest."

"Of course Rohini, tell Thaman to join us as well. Rani, I hope you speak French because it looks like we're finally going on our honeymoon," Zak joked. His familiars cheered to because they had always wanted to see France.

Rani used her powers to call forth the Amabize, a sea monster from the Congo to them. The group rode the great beast all the way to France in a matter of two hours. After dismissing the Amabize the group hiked to the foothills of Gevaudin. All the villagers had barricaded themselves in their homes fearful of the Beast. Thanks to their glamour spells the Nagas now looked like Thailanders in traditional wear and Zak had alter his appearance as well. He still wore his normal clothes and cloak, but his skin was much darker and his hair was blond. He made the Claw resemble a walking stick.

"It is fortunate that the Beast has scared everyone inside. Now we can work without being filmed. The last thing we need is to advertise where Kur is," Rohini stated.

"If the need arises I will erase any evidences of our presence here," Thaman told her.

"How far do we have to go until we find the Beast?"

Just then they all stiffened as they heard a long, low howl followed closely by intense growling. It was coming from the nearby forest where they could see a pair of gold eyes appear in the dark shadows. Without warning a gigantic red and black beast leapt out of the forest landing only a few feet from them. The creature was huge! The Beast of Gevaudin had dark red fur all over its body except for its back, which was black. Rows of sharp, white, teeth glistened in the air. The Beast paws were the size of dinner plates and overall it resembled a cross between a wolf and hyena. It took one look at the group and let loose a howl so bone chilling Zak nearly lost it.

"Oh man what was I thinking? How am I supposed to do this? I don't have any cortex disruptors or other weapons," Zak moaned. His familiars whispered comforting thoughts into his mind assuring him he could do this. Taking a deep breath he let his Kur powers activate. The surge of power surprised the Beast, who took a step back in the presences of Kur. Zak locked sights with the creature ignoring the pain as his powers attempted to run loose. "Remember our plan. We need to subdue the creature and bring it back to Bhogavatie. I don't want it to get pass us and hurt the villagers. Stay glamour unless I tell you differently. On my mark, go!"

The three Nagas reacted quickly taking flanking positions blocking the creature on three sides. Zak moved up in front preventing him from escaping towards the villages. The Beast let loose a howl of rage and charged Zak. Its speed was so incredible that Zak was startled and tripped loosing his connection. The Beast was about to pounce on him when Thaman use his own levitation spell to halt the Beast in mid leap. "My King, are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm okay. How long can you hold him?" Zak inquired, right before the Beast broke free of the spell landing a few feet in front of Zak. His Kur powers refused to activate so she shot the grappling line at the Beast wrapping up its legs and pulled hard bring it to the ground. Cercrops and Kitchi-At'husis traveled down the length of the cord and then starting biting the Beast. They may not be poisonous, but they could still cause him pain. Unfortunately the between the fur and its thick hide they couldn't get a good grip. They were forced to retreat as Zak launched himself over the Beast.

"Hey, come and get me you overgrown wolf!" Zak took off running, the Beast hot on his trail. "Come on activate! Ugh, what a time for my powers to act up. Rohini, Rani do something!" he shouted as he dove between the two. The two female Nagas responded by elongating their arms and wrapping them tightly around the Beast. Its strength was incredible and pulled the two disguised Nagas towards it snapping at them. They had no choice, but to let go. The Beast didn't let up swatting them with its paws and trying to bite them. The three Nagas had no choice, but to revert to their true form and wrap the Beast tightly in their coils, but it still wouldn't go down. The whole ball was one bloody mess.

"Rohini, Thaman, Rani no! I got to do something! Please I'm begging you work!" Zak shouted. His powers activated big time as his entire body was covered in an orange aura, the glow encompassing the entire area. He was more then connected with the minds of the cryptids; he found that unlike before, he could now control their physical bodies! Zak found his spirit lodged inside the Beast as his body crumpled to the ground. Opening his mouth he let loose a whimper, showing the Nagas his glowing gold eyes. It was enough for them to back off and let him loose.

"My King are you in control of the Beast?" Thaman questioned hesitant to trust his eyes. Zak/Beast nodded his huge head. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rohini pick up his unconscious body. Motioning for Rani the Queen placed her hands on the Beast's head. Working together they figured out why the Beast was rampaging, (defending its territory from encroaching humans), and they convinced it that it would be safe and happy joining their cause. Finally Zak was able to return to his body.

"Ugh, that was a trip. Still I like this new power!"

"I advise against using it until you have fully mastered it. You left our body entirely vulnerable when your soul took over the Beast," Rohini warned helping the boy to his feet. Said Beast was now acting like an overgrown puppy playing at Zak's feet. Without warning it lifted the boy up and put him on his back. "I think the Beast likes you."

"Of course he does. He's Kur after all. I sense humans approaching. Disguises quickly!" Rani hissed, already reverting back to her human form. When the villagers arrived all they saw were four humans and one Great Pyrenees dog. They rapidly asked what had happened to the Beast, which Rani answered assuring them that the threat was taken care of by them and the Beast would never trouble them again. All they asked was that they would repay the favor one day. The village agreed and took tons of pictures and shook hands with their saviors. Thaman cast as spell to ensure the pictures wouldn't show their true forms, but one picture was taken by a visiting ghost hunter with a full spectrum camera, which saw through their glamour spell.

The ghost hunter not understanding what he had sent the picture to his friends where the image was posted online for debate. By the time Zak and company were safely back home the image had been seen by over a thousand people. Many thought it was a joke, but for three groups it was the sign they were looking for. For the Saturday family it meant their son was alive, but maybe under the control of the resurrected Nagas. For the Secret Scientist it meant that Zak was an official threat with no chance of redemption. And for Argost? It meant that the prize he thought would soon be his.


	3. Visions in the Down Under

On the airship Doc, Drew, and their boys were having a web cam talk with Doyle, Van Rook, and Zon. After seeing that picture on the web the family was understandably concerned about Zak's well being. The sight of their son with the formerly extinct Nagas and sporting scales had nearly pushed Drew over the edge.

"It just doesn't make any sense. How in the world did Zak get mixed up with the Nagas? Dr. Paganastan's chemical formula should have eliminated them for good," Doc stated to the group. While the group was talking he was working on his consul trying to keep an eye on the SS and Argost activity.

"Well your friend failed, that's all there is to it. Right now we need to focus on what were going to do about the Mini Man. Van Rook and I haven't had the easiest time finding leads about Argost. My old nemeses Baron Finster told us before his untimely demise, that Argost got his money from him meaning that Argost lied about his past. If we found out where he came from it would give us an edge against him," Doyle said. He locked eyes with his sister. "Hey, sis keep your chin up. I'm sure that there's a good reason why Zak is with the Nagas. If there isn't we can always use that Epic of Gilgamesh you were looking for. Did you find it?"

"After our own epic battle against some of the Secret Scientist we manage to retrieve the epic from a grave in Greenland. Miranda upgraded Deadbolt again. His new laser system nearly blew up the whole thing. I was hoping to have time to translate more of the epic when the picture popped up. Now we need to translate it fast before the SS decide to hurt Zak!"

"I'll pound/bite/claw anyone who tries to harm Zak!" the cryptid siblings roared in the background. For the past five and half weeks they had been very concerned about their brother. Fisk had attempted numerous times to douse for the boy only to be mystically blocked. Zon and Komodo had asked every reptile relative they encountered for news on the boy, but they had been met with zipped lips. It was very frustrating that they couldn't find out anything about Zak.

"I would forget about the poem for awhile Drew. I just heard from some old contacts of mine that some strange activity has been reported in the Australian Outback. Lately some of the natives have been ranting about the creators and destroyers of the Dreamtime returning. It might be nothing, but I'll bet every payment I ever made that your kid is heading to the Australia to meet up with the Aborigines."

"How can you be so certain that the info you got from your old "friends" is reliable Van Rook? I _will not _go running on some wild goose chase to find my boy!"

"Drew, I think we should listen to Van Rook on this one. I brought up all the data on what's been going on in the Outback and the cryptid activity is unusually concentrated in a small area near Ayers Rock. I think we should go there. Even if Zak's not there, the Aborigines might be able to help us find him. We'll rendiview with you there in four hours. Remember travel as discreetly as possible. We can't let the other Secret Scientists or Argost find out our travel plans," Doc warned, as he programmed the navigation system. It looked like they were heading for the down under.

Unknown to the Saturdays their transmission had been hacked by the Secret Scientists. Bara, Grey and Deadbolt, Beamman, Mizuki and his pet, were aboard Beamman's ship tracking the airship when they managed to intercept the conversation. Beamman glanced over his shoulder at Bara, who looked to be in some kind of trance. "So Dreamer, is their any validity to what the crook was saying? Is Kur going to be in Australia or should we follow our other leads and head to Turkey?"

"Arthur don't interrupt David when he's searching the dream realm! You'll most likely get him stuck there," Grey chided her colleague.

"I never pegged you one to believe in Bara's mumbo jumbo. Aren't you the one who once said 'the facts and only the facts?"

"Is it possible for you two to not argue for two minutes? Honestly it's like watching an old married couple," Mizuki muttered under his breath. His tiger let out a low growl in agreement. Before the two of them could retort Bara came out of his dream state. "Dr. Bara?"

"The dream world is seriously agitated by something. I've never seen so many conflicting dreams. For a single moment I was connected with Kur's dream bubble. He's definently dreaming about the end of the world although I don't know if he's the one causing it. I was able to confirm he's going to Australia. I say we get there as soon as possible if we want to capture us a Kur."

"Then buckle up boys and girls were heading to the Land Down Under," Beamman said. As they headed off to Ayers rock, but unbeknownst to them Argost had hacked _them._

"Well well Munya finally the little Kurling has made his presence known. Finally after all the traps I laid, all those broadcasts were finally going to find that pesky little boy. With my powers of persuasion I'm sure I can convince the little lad to come live with us in Weird World until I'm able to steal his powers! Munya follow that spaceship!" Argost cackled with evil delight.

At the moment Zak along with his Naga escorts and his faithful companion BG (the Beast). Zak could sense their apprehension as they marched across the red dusted land towards the community near Ayers Rock. Ever since they had returned from France his visions of the future had intensified, even coming to him when he was wide awake. None of Thaman's spells could decipher their true meaning. That's when Rana, who had been spreading rumors of Zak's supposed location in Turkey, had been informed them she had been contacted via some mischief cryptids called Bunyips, that a group of Aboriginals wanted to speak with Kur. They claimed they could help him with his visions so they had come to Australia riding on the Dreamtime Whale to meet them.

"My Lord, this is very risky. We should not have the left the safety of Bhogavatie. Hara, Anand, and I know for a fact that your family, the Secret Scientists, and the bastard are on their way here. Should they find you, I don't know what will happen," Rana warned him. The purple, green scaled female was concerned not only for her leader, but for her own position as well. Should she fail to keep Zak from danger she could lose her position and possibly life.

"Rana, I know you're concerned for my safety, but I need to speak with the shaman about my visions. Hara, I know you've been trying so hard to find info about Argost. It's not your fault that he's covered his tracks so well my friend. Maybe unlocking the truth of the visions will tell us what we need to know about him. Anyways I trust you three and BG here to protect me from harm. If unwanted company shows up you guys will just have to keep them busy. Now we're here. Please be on your best behavior, that includes you two," Zak addressed his familiars.

_"Hey I resent that!" _ Kitchi-At'husis hissed angrily.

_"Yeah we always behave ourselves! It's those poisonous death adders out here that you should tell to behave,"_ Cercrops whined. A harsh glance from Zak shut him up.

The community of Aborigines, known as Gumitd, was waiting for him. They didn't bat an eye when they saw the Nagas or BG. They were all dressed in traditional clothes of red, black, and orange and had painted or tattooed themselves in honor of their visitor. A young teenage girl with tattoo markings of a lizard and long braided hair greeted them. "Welcome Zak Saturday, it is an honor to meet you. I am Bindi Dreamtime; it was my grandfather, Tijala, our shaman who arranged this meeting."

"I'm surprised that you guys wanted to even see me. I'm Kur, the destroyer of the world, king of the cryptids, bane of mankind. I'm the ultimate evil," Zak responded a bit sarcastically.

"My Lord that was rude! Apologize at once!" Rana commanded slapping the boy upside the head. They were still trying to gain an alliance with this group and offending them wouldn't help them at all.

Rubbing his sore head Zak gave her a lopsided grin. "Sorry, my advisor is right. I'm not use to people wanting to be around me. Ever since I found out my destiny might be to destroy humanity, most humans have steered clear of me."

"I understand Zak, but you must know we are not like most humans. My ancestors have lived near the holy Uluru (Ayers Roc) for centuries. We have great respect for the land and all the creatures that have come from the Dreamtime. You yourself are no different then Koala or Starfish."

"My granddaughter is right young man. As Tarrotarro the Giant Lizard told our ancestors when he separated the genders, and showed us how tattoo, evil comes in many forms. Kur is one name to describe an apocalyptical creature or monster from many different cultures. You have also been known as Fenris, a creature from Ragnarok or the Leviathan in the Bible. The names are too numerous to count," Tijala said, as he left his home and approached the group. He was an old man with gray hair, wearing traditional clothes with facial tattoos. By his side were two cryptids, a Bunyip and a Queensland tiger. Both bowed their heads in respect when they saw Kur.

"It's very nice to meet all of you. It's really great when they don't run away scared of me. Most people think I'm a monster."

"But you're not a monster are you? A monster wouldn't be trying to save the world. I know you have many questions young one and the answers you seek can be found in the Dreamtime. It was on a recent walkabout that I was told by the Rainbow Serpent himself to guide you on your path. Come with me, we must purify you first before you may enter the Dreamtime. You may bring your weapon, but the Nagas and dog will need to stay here. This ritual is a personal experience," Tijala explained. The Nagas and BG didn't like that and vocalized their protest.

"That's enough out of all of you! _Silencio!_" Zak chanted, casting a silencing spell over them, temporarily taking away their ability to speak. His Kur powers flared cloaking him in orange light. "I know you afraid for my safety and with good reason, but we are guests here! These people invited us to their home to help us and become our friends. So there is no reason to object to following their rules. Hara, Anand go with some of their warriors and scout the perimeter in case of trouble. Rana, continue negotiations with the Gumitd . If this is vision quest is successful we'll need all the allies in our fight against Argost. BG, you and the cryptids can guard the house while I undergo the ritual. Is that acceptable to everyone? Good, then let's get this over with."

"Rest assured my friends no harm shall come to your Lord. Our warriors will protect him with their lives. Our women will dance and sing songs to ward of anyone who would harm us both here and in the Dreamtime," Tijala assured them.

It took several hours before the purification was completed. First he needed to take a long bath in special spring water to wash away any impurities. Next he had to sit and breathe in sweet smelling smoke from the red gum tree to cleanse his spirit. Then they removed all his clothes except for his pants so they could paint the tattoos over his body. Finally he sat by the fire getting ready to drink a nasty smelling concoction that would help him enter the Dreamtime. "Ugh that smells worse then those Honey Island creatures. Are you sure this is necessary?"

"I am positive. The potion will allow your spirit to travel into the Dreamtime. When you enter be warned that time does not exist in this place. The past, present and future all occur at once so you will be confused by what you encounter. That is why I will go with you to guide you on your path. By working together we can unlock the truth about what your power has been warning you about it."

"Thank you Tijala for your help. I wish the Scientists were more open minded like you."

"The Secret Scientist are ruled by fact and logic young Zak. While they have opened their minds to the numerous mysteries left in this world their hearts are close off to the spirit of nature that is in all of us. Kur, in the past may have harmed the human race, but he also helped them."

"Helped them? How did he do that?"

"By attacking the ancient world he made humans learn to respect and work with it instead of using it for their own purpose. In return nature saw humans as way to pass on their legacy. A legacy told through conservation and story. My people are just one cultural example of this method. For centuries a balance was struck with both humans and nature existing together in harmony. However times have changed and many have forgotten to respect nature and preserve the harmony. As Kur reincarnated it is your responsibility to bring that back."

"_That's what you were telling the Nagas when you brought them back," _Kitchi-At'husis hissed. Cercrops agreed with his partner. They would be the last line of defense should someone come here looking for Zak.

"I thought I had enough pressure trying to master my Kur powers and learn magic. Now I have to be the ambassador between Mother Nature and the human race. I'm going to go gray before my thirteenth birthday next month. Alright is there anything else I should know before we do this?" Zak asked. Knowing his luck anything that could go wrong would.

"Once this ritual begins, there is no stopping it. Should someone attempt to interrupt your spirit and body could be separated permanently. Only once we have finished our walk in the Dreamtime can I safely guide us to our bodies. Also be warned that some creatures can hurt you in there if you're not careful. Should your spirit perish you _will _die for real. Do you still wish to undergo this ritual?" Tijala pressed. Zak nodded his head.

With a smile Tijala threw some crushed bones and plants into the fire causing it to leap into the air and turn a bright blue. The sweet smoke filled their nostrils and the music of the dirrabo horns relaxed the two of them. Tijala began chanting in his native tongue opening the path to the Dreamtime. With a signal Zak swallowed the bitter potion. Immediately Zak wanted to throw it back up, but he managed to keep it down. His eyes were glowing bright orange before darkening until they were almost the color of autumn leaves. With a rush of energy Zak found himself leaving his body behind and following Tijala into a rainbow ribbon of light, the metaphysical representation of the Rainbow Serpent one of the creator creatures. By passing through his mouth the two humans found themselves in the strange world that was the Dreamtime.

Zak blinked, trying to make sense of what he saw, but it was almost overwhelmed by what he saw. He was standing on a curving purple ribbon. The sky around him was orange and green. A diversity of shapes and colors could be seen hovering in the sky. Zak Kur senses were going nuts as he sensed the creatures darting about. As he tried to focus on the task at hand his memories/visions attacked him at once. He let out a cry of pain, but then it soon vanished as Tijala placed a hand on his shoulder controlling the stream of events he was seeing. "Thanks, I felt like my head was going to explode."

"The Dreamtime is confusing for anyone the first time they come here. Now take my hand and don't let go. I fear we may not have as much time as we originally thought."

Back in the real world the Saturday family had met up with Doyle and Van Rook. The group was stealthily making their way to the community. About a half a mile from the community they took refuge behind some rocks and started observing the community.

"I've spotted at least two species of cryptids. The Bunyips are causing a lot of mischief, but the natives don't seem to mind. Actually I'm surprised Bunyips aren't trying to devour them, because according to legend that's what they do. That Queensland tiger is a surprise. A rare marsupial cat with deadly claws and fangs that are suppose to be untamable, but they have it patrolling the edge of the group. I see that Beast of Gevaudin so Zak must be here," Doc whispered to group, after checking his cryptidpedia.

"The locals are performing a dance of protection. It's performed to protect the shaman when's he's on a journey in the Dreamtime so that his spirit can return safely. What's unusual is the number of hunters and warriors out about. They look like they're expecting trouble." 

"Well, trouble is here isn't it? Now where the heck is Mini Man? I've done a thermal sweep and I still can't find the kid."

"Didn't I teach you anything when you worked for me? Look for your target where the least activity is, because that's usually where the big action is. My info red scopes see two bodies in the house over there sitting by a very hot fire. One of them is a child and my sensors are picking up a lot of unusual energy coming from the kid. I think we found your boy!"

"Then let's go get him!" Fisk shouted, Komodo and Zon agreed. Just then the group was bombarded by an array of boomerangs. They twisted around and saw a group of warriors accompanied by Hara and Anand were standing behind them. They drew their weapons to defend themselves, but another barrage of boomerangs knocked them away. Two hunters rushed in and used their rounded nulla nulla's, long club/staff weapons, to knock them out.

They awoke a bit later trapped in Hara and Anand coils. The sound of clap sticks and seed drums was beating in their head. When Bindi appeared with Rana and BG by her side the music quieted down a bit. "Rana, have your friends release the Saturday family. Warriors, please restrain them gently. Welcome Saturday family we've been expecting you."

"Release us at once! I don't know what tricks the Nagas are pulling on you, but they're here to harm you! All we want is my son!" Drew cried. She struggled in vain to free herself, but couldn't. The rest of the family was in the same boat.

"Typical humans, you think the world revolves around you. We are not here to harm the community. The Gumitd have agreed to assist our Lord Kur in dealing with his visions of the future. There is no need to be concerned Saturdays I assure you Kur has been safe with us," Rana informed the group.

"How safe can my son be in the company of a group of fanatics training him to take over the world?!" Doc demanded.

"Kur is not trying to take over the world; he intends to save it from itself. He has studied under his teacher Thaman in both academics and magical theory. He rules our kind with a gentle, but firm heart," Hara retorted.

"He wants a world were cryptids and humans can live in peace. He intends to fight for equality not domination. It is you and your friends the Secret Scientist who are the problem. Kur asked you to let him solve his own problems, but you insist on coming here and putting us all at risk!" Anand shouted.

"Good thing they did or we wouldn't have tracked you slimy snakes here," Dr. Beamman said, as the SS appeared at the edge of ton. The Australian cryptids and the Kur attendants let out growl of surprise and frustration at seeing them. The community raised their weapons in defense, but a roar from Mizuki's tiger made them hesitate. "We don't want any trouble here. Now put down your weapons and step aside. We have a monster to capture."

"The only monsters I see here are you! We asked the Nagas to bring Zak to us to help him. They haven't threatened us or harmed us in anyway like you are. Even if we could turn the boy over we won't. Zak is on Dreamtime journey and _any_ disruption to the ritual could mean his death. If you refuse to leave calmly we will force you to leave!" Bindi warned her hand on one of the super sharp non returnable boomerangs. The groups were at a stand off neither side budging. That's when the final party decided to make its presences known. Balls of spider threads fell from the sky and it was thanks in part to Bindi's boomerang that it didn't capture anyone. "Show yourself coward!"

"Greetings and bienvenue my old friends. It seems that we all decided to take a little R&R in the Outback," Argost chuckled.

"ARGOST!"

"Leave this place at once bastard!" Rana hissed angrily. Next to her, BG barked threateningly at Argost, itching to rip the TV personality into a million little pieces.

"Now is that anyway to treat an old dear friend? I know why all of you are here. You Nagas are hoping to boost the boy's powers for your own gain right? While Mommy and Daddy just want their baby, but their sweet little colleagues intend to ice him for good. Personally I thought you be pleased to see me take the young Kurling off your hands. I, who know all the secrets of Kur, am the only one who can help him." 

"Nobody here is harming Zak. You have all threatened our home and have tried to hurt our guests. That is an unforgivable offence. Warriors defend our home!" Bindi commanded unleashing the forces of her community.

A battle royal ensured. The Bunyip went after Miranda, Beamman, and Deadbolt trying to take them out of the fight. The two tigers were wrestling on the ground biting and clawing each other in a death match. Mizuki found himself squaring off against Doyle and Van Rook. Munya under siege by Hara and Anand. While in the meantime Argost was up against Rana who slammed her tail into him again and again trying to kill him. Doc and Drew were running amidst the chaos and the defending warriors trying to reach Zak. Meanwhile the cryptids siblings were trying to prevent Dr. Bara from entering the Dreamtime to go after Zak. Komodo and Zon rushed Dr. Bara, but he merely side stepped them throwing sleeping powder on them. He then got a lucky punch in taking out Fisk.

"Now, time to settle down and astral project myself into the Dreamtime. I can't let Kur find the answers to destroying the human race! Hmm hmm. Hmmmm," Dr. Bara started chanting. He gripped his totem tightly focusing his mental energy on the charm. After a few seconds he slumped over and his spirit was projected into the Dreamtime.

While the battle outside had been going on Zak and Tijala had made excellent progress navigating the Dreamtime. Zak had witness his past life as Kur seeing how he nearly destroyed the world. While he saw the acts of evil his past self did, he also saw the good he had done. Now they were closer to figuring out the visions about Argost. He saw Argost performing some kind of ritual with the Smoke Mirror, then he saw Argost in the past on the Himalayan mountains talking to an orange Meh-The, a subspecies of Yeti. Then the images showed Argots in the present ripping sections of Rana's skin off as he made his way to the house.

"RANA! I have to help her! They're getting hurt out there!" Zak shouted, trying to run away, but Tijala held firm.

"Rana and the others will be fine. Until you have completed the journey and find your answers, you're stuck here. Now focus your mental energies. You must let Dreamtime's power fill your soul. Take a deep breath, now release it. Center your Kur powers on Argost's spirit. Track it down and see the story unfold. The truth behind the images will come to you," Tijala instructed.

"I think that's enough of this funky party if you ask me. Stop right there Kur!" Dr. Bara's spirit commanded, pointing a dream talisman at Zak who was shocked to see him. "Well I guess its true, once a snake always a snake," he commented on Zak's scales and Nagamani jewel. 

"What are you doing here Dr. Bara? How are you _even_ here?"

"I'm the Secret Scientist of dreams remember? You think I don't know the mysterious of the Dreamtime? For instance, I know that by attacking your spirit here, your body will die as well. No more Kur!"

"Sir, you are conspiring to murder a child in the sacred realm of the Dreamtime! I urge you to stop before something bad happens," Tijala warned Bara, stepping in front of Zak.

"Back away! I'm not going to warn you again. Kur must be stopped! You don't know what he's capable of!" Bara screamed, images of his fears swirling all around him. The colors and shapes had darkened nearly vanishing. Zak was struggling to keep the timeline of Argost with him. Bara saw this and used the power of his talisman, sending a bolt of dream energy at Zak.

Tijala shielded the boy, letting power nearly kill his spirit. Zak watched in horror as he felt the man's spirit start to fade. The images of Argost were swept away. "NO! HE WAS AN INNOCENT HUMAN! HOW COULD YOU HURT HIM?!" Zak demanded, tears spilling down his face. Zak opened his mouth to voice a threat when a new power manifested itself. His orange filled eyes started pulling power from his physical body to his spirit. It then started manifesting itself above his head until it was a spirit creature. Bara stepped back as the creature attacked him forcing him out of the Dreamtime, but it didn't end there.

"Fools, they have unleashed Kur's power over the cryptid dimensions! Now his spirit will call force the Dreamtime beings to protect his body. This can't end well," Tijala whispered, as he struggled to his feet. He had to get Zak back to his body. If he didn't then the madness before them might never end.

Outside the battle had been going on for over an hour. Now when it seemed like it was nearing the end a whole new set of problems had arrived. Bursts of orange light shot out of the house and manifested themselves in the shape of creatures. There was Bobbi-Bobbie, the heavenly serpent and creator of the boomerang. The evil Dheeyabery, who had human fronts unformed flesh in the back were standing next to the Dhinnabarrada who were half human half emu. Giant Emus, Koalas, and Starfish appeared. The most dangerous of them all was the kangaroo Krantijrinja creator of many things. They all were pissed off and attacked everyone in sight.

"Looks like the little monster have shown his true colors at last!" Beamman shouted as they ran for their lives, dragging Bara's body behind him. The doctor was still unconscious from being forced out the Dreamtime so abruptly.

"Fools, the Dreamtime creatures are defending him because of you threatening to harm Kur! You are responsible for this mess not him!" Hara hissed.

"Doc, we have to get Zak while everyone's distracted. Come on!" Drew said, pulling her husband towards the house. She saw Argost also heading for the house and picked up speed. She powered up her sword intent on taking out Argost when Munya pinned them to the ground with his webs. "NO! ZAK!"

"Don't worry Drew, your boy will be safe with me," Argost chuckled entering the house. When he entered he saw that the young Kurling had created a protective orange barrier around him. Shooting out of his spiky head were orange lights transforming into Dreamtime creatures. "This is like taking candy from a baby," he whispered as he reached for the boy.

He pulled his hand back as the two familiars bit down. They refused to let go until he ripped them off and forcefully pulled Zak away from the fire. Big mistake, the resulting jolt of Kur energy sent him, Munya and the Secret Scientists back to their ships in a lot of pain. The Dreamtime creatures vanished back into their realm. Tijala came running out of the house with a teenage boy in a coma. The Saturday family tried to get to Zak, but BG blocked them threatening to eat any of them who came close to his master.

"KUR! NO Lord Kur! Why won't he wake up?" Rana demanded, as she cradled the boy to her chest. Tears were threatening to spill. The other Nagas came over to her and Bindi handed Hara the Claw with two slightly discombobulated familiars. Rana turned to the Saturdays with anger in her eyes. "Do you see what your interference has caused?! Your son asked you to leave him alone while he figured out his Kur powers. He wanted to save the world, believing it was his destiny handed to him hand by his family. Now thanks to you and other his spirit wanders unable to return to his body. If Kur never awakens it will be your fault!" With a final hiss Hara and Anand used their magic to teleport the group home leaving a distraught family wondering if they killed their son.


	4. The Awakening

Rani Naga was in a frenzy as were the rest of her people. Her beloved mate lay in a coma on his bed, barely breathing, and his pulse weak. Sweat poured down his face and his temperature was rising. Cercrops and Kitchi-At'husis curled around his face licking his face. BG was curled up at his master's feet howling in misery. Thaman was waving a healing wand over Zak's body trying to help heal him, but it was to no avail. Zak's spirit was still wondering helplessly in the Dreamtime far from his body. Not even the vast power of his Nagamani could return a lost soul to its body. Thaman looked at his queen shaking his hooded head sadly.

"I'm sorry my Queen. I have tried every spell I know. Every cryptid that has healing powers has attempted to bring him out of his coma, but to no avail. Unless we can locate his spirit I'm afraid that Kur will never wake up from his coma my queen," Thaman told her sadly.

"NO! THIS CAN'T BE!" Rani shouted obliterating part of the wall in her room. Her tail lashed out destroying all the furniture in the room. Her second pair of arms ripped apart her spare clothing. Tears streamed down her face as she gently stroked her beloved face. She didn't even bat an eye as Rana, Rohini, Hara, and Anand slithered in. Thaman motioned for them to be quite and give their Queen a moment.

"My Queen, I accept full responsibility for what happened to Kur. I was in charge of the mission in Australia. I should have anticipated the arrival of the Secret Scientist and err _Argost!_ If only had managed to kill the bastard then none of this would have happened!" Rana said in a tight voice. She was visibly shaking and it was taking all her will power not to destroy something. Interestingly enough the gashes she received from Argost's claws hadn't healed fully. Something was stopping the amrita from working its magic.

"Rana you did everything you could do. It was the fault of those Secret Scientists and Kur's family. Had they stayed out of our Kings business then we wouldn't be in the middle of a crises at the moment. If Kur hadn't bonded us to him through his blood I find those Secret Scientist and destroy them once and for all! Kur would have wanted that," Hara vowed.

_"Stop talking like that! Zak wouldn't want that and you know it! We're all upset, but we can't play the blaming game. It solves nothing and waste precious time. Time we should use trying to waken Zak from his coma," _Cercrops chastised him_._

_ "Even if you weren't under a blood bond you still obey him because he's Kur. Zak dream of a peaceful and equal coexistence between humans and cryptids is worth fighting for. We can't give up on it just because he's in a coma. We should fight even harder for it. Who knows? We might discover a solution to our predicament through our efforts. So what do you say?" _ Kitchi-At'husis asked.

"Kitchi-At'husis is right. We must continue on with our plans even during these trying times. Rana, I've noticed that your wounds haven't quite healed. Can you explain to me exactly what Argost did to you? Did you notice anything unusual about him? "

"When I battled that bastard I fought with everything I had, but the man was unusually fast. He slashed me with his claws. I'm not sure why they haven't healed completely. You know, now that I think about it his heat signature wasn't that of a human. It was much colder and he seemed to be panting in the heat of the Outback. I'm beginning to suspect that our foe isn't human."

"Argost is a _cryptid_? Well it would make a lot of sense about why certain cryptids feel more comfortable with him. If he's a cryptid then how come our Lord was unable to sense that?" Hara demanded. "His powers have grown exponentially since our first encounter with him nearly eight months ago. If anyone would be able to distinguish the difference between a human and cryptid it would be Kur himself!"

"Certain humanoid cryptids have the ability to mask their essences from Kur according to the ancient texts. In ancient times these cryptids refused to submit to our Lord's power and obey his command. Many were destroyed, but some were banished. It was rumored they had the ability to destroy the honor guard of Kur, that is us. Hmm I know only a handful of creatures that could leave these gashes on you Rana. Did Tijala say anything about what Kur and him encountered in the Dreamtime before the boy fell into a coma?"

"There wasn't much time. All he said was that right before one of the Secret Scientists attacked them, that Kur had saw a image of Argost with a Meh-The. If he was consorting with the subspecies of Yeti I gamble my life that Argost is cryptid from Tibet. Hara, you should go to Tibet and find out what you can," Rana told Hara. The male looked at her like she had told him to eat his own tail.

"You're serious Rana? Do I have to? Tibet is one of the coldest places in the world! I'm cold blooded how do you expect me to survive there?"

"Don't be such a baby Hara! Kur chose you as his lieutenant because he believed in you. If you're so worried about the cold take some of the cold weather cryptids, such as the Borytingarna or the Gulon if you feel lucky, with you. Just go and hurry. Ever since Kur fell into his coma my forces and I have been working overtime. Many of the cryptids such as the Migas of Central Africa and Kenaima of South America have reverted to their nature of luring humans to their death. Our delicate alliance between the humans and the cryptids is on the verge of falling apart," Rohini warned them. She shook her head before looking Thaman and Rani in the eye. "My Queen I need to leave and take our people with me. If we are to protect our dream from falling apart we must go to the rebelling cryptids and assure them that Kur will be fine. Please my Queen let me go?"

"Go and take as many as our people and cryptid army as you think you'll need. Rana will assist you. We need to step up our recruitment. Do whatever it takes to stop their human killing ways. If the only way to stop them is to kill them then you have my permission to destroy them. If the humans get in the way save them or knock them out. We need to have them in this alliance. Go now! Anand, find out what you can about the Secret Scientist and Kur's family. We need to find out what they're planning. Thaman, discuss our options with the Chardrus. The Healing Bird of the Middle Ages has the power to cure spiritual blindness surely it can find a lost spirit. If not it must know someone who can. Go now and don't return until you have some good news!" Rani commanded. The lieutenants nodded and hurried away leaving their royals alone.

BG cried nudging Zak's prone form whimpering. He looked at Rani wondering what was wrong with his master. She stroked the creature's fur and tried her best to reassure him that things would be okay. "When I first met you Kur I thought you were an annoyance that needed to be destroyed. As time past I grew to admire and love you for your kindness and your determination. You have grown into such a wonderful leader with compassion and the ability to forgive anyone who harms you. I wish I had your gift to see the world as place of hope. I promise you Kur if you awaken we'll have the biggest thirteenth birthday party bash you have ever seen! Please wake up!"

While the Nagas were hoping and praying for the recovery of their leader the groups from Australia were all recovering in different ways. At the moment Argost had hired Abbey Gray to rescue his old friend from the clutches of Pierre Grosome in Morocco. "My dear please hurry up and do the job I hired you to do or you won't be paid."

"Keep your cloak on Argost. Just have my money ready for me. Pierre is going down," Abbey said, taking off on her jetpack. Being a mercenary paid a whole lot more then her salary as the Secret Scientist of Ancient Civilizations. As bonus her ex Doyle Blackwell could show up and then they could have a party!

Argost watched as the mercenary took off. It would be good to see his old friend Meh-The again. He hoped he didn't have to kill him to protect the secrets of the past. That would be a bit messy. He turned to Munya who was carrying the Epic of Gilgamesh they had stolen from the Saturday's airship along with some interesting data. "Ah Munya did you manage to find someone to translate the text on the tablet?"

"Ugh."

"Good! As soon as we conclude our business here I wish to locate our little Kurling. That boy will pay for what he did to me in Australia. The power of Kur will be mine!" Argost cackled.

All the Secret Scientist had gathered for a conference at Beamman's lab. Dr. Bara had just finished reporting what he had seen in the Dreamtime and his suspicions about Zak's current condition. All the Secret Scientists were listening with such intensity you could light a fire with it. Only one person was off to the side wondering if what they were planning was a good idea.

"Are you absolutely certain that what you saw was the future?" Dr. Paganastan inquired. "I don't mean to question you David, but if we are serious about capture Zak we need to be certain of the threat level he poses."

"He summoned creatures straight out of the Dreamtime to attack us! He convinced a bunch of natives that we were the enemy! I say that makes him a huge threat!" Beamman said.

"Not to mention his pets. Who knows what those Nagas have been teaching him. If he can use magic now to fight against us then we're at a serious disadvantage," Cheveyo mentioned to the group.

"Odelie have you finished that freeze ray? We'll need to act fast if we are to cryo Zak before he can use any type of power on us," Cheecho asked.

"Not yet, but I should finish as soon as Epsilon agrees to hand over the parts I need."

"I told you my people would be more then willing to give you the necessary components as soon you agreed to let us have DNA sample to study. Zak's has demonstrated amazing regenerative capabilities that we wish to implant in our agents. I promise you that we won't attempt to revive the power of Kur in our agents."

"How can we trust your word? You have been known to backstab us in the past!" Mizuki roared.

"Stop acting like a bunch of children and grow up! Honestly I'm dealing with children," Dr. Grey muttered.

"Don't you think all of you are acting like children," a soft voice spoke up. Everyone turned to Francis, who had removed his eye wear and was staring at them with his blind eyes. All of the Secret Scientists and his father looked at him wondering what he had to say.

"I admit at first I was concerned when the truth about Zak was revealed. His power is a danger to humanity. His personality makes him unsuited to wield it. After all he's to wild, predictable and soft hearted. When he gets angry everyone suffers. I thought when he ran away that it would be the end of us until I started sifting through the facts. Since Zak's disappearance nearly two and half months ago the up rise in cryptid activity has gone down. Reports of man eating creatures stopping their killing sprees have popped up. All over the globe groups of humans and cryptids are staring to get along better. Whatever Zak is doing he is doing it to benefit both human and cryptids. He doesn't care about labels or how people see him. All he sees is a world that needs protecting. You see him as mankind's destruction. I see him as the only hope for our future against Argost and other evils. If my opinions make me a deviant and the enemy so be it. I won't be a part of this anymore. Consider this my resignation," he said tossing his sonic collar on the table and walking out of the room leaving everyone stunned.

At the Saturday's old home they were gathering some of Drew's old texts. The mood was somber as the thoughts of what happened in Australia filled their minds. None of them knew if Zak was dead or alive and the not knowing was killing them. So while Van Rook grumbled under his breath about a missed opportunity of finding out more of Argost and Doyle keeping him and the kids out of the way, it fell onto Doc to comfort his wife and sort through the texts.

"Drew, it's going to be okay. I know how your feeling right now, but we have to believe," Doc started to say when Drew rudely interrupted him.

"No Doc it's not going to be okay! It hasn't been okay for the longest time! Our son ran away from home, our friends and colleagues want to freeze him in a block of ice for all eternity, Argost stole the Epic of Gilgamesh from our airship, taking with him our one chance to pull the essences of Kur out Zak. Now that we finally see our son again we learn he's consorting with the Nagas of all cryptids and in a coma maybe never waking up because of us trying to rescue him! So I would appreciate it if you stop trying to fill me with reassurances you can't back up!"

"Wow sis calm down! I know you're worried about Mini Man, but right now there's nothing you can do. We don't know where the Nagas took him and even if we found him we have no idea how to bring him out of his coma. That's why we need to find those books of yours. They should give us a clue on how to fight the spirit of Kur and save Zak," Doyle said, his hands raised up in a gesture of peace. He could sense that Drew was having flashbacks to when they lost their folks in the Himalayas.

"Your kid is a survivor Drew. If he can handle breaking into Weird World and going toe to toe with some of the most dangerous cryptids in the world I doubt he let himself be done in by some silly little coma," Van Rook added helpfully. He had just finished packing up the last of the texts and was ready to book it to Morocco. Their lead on Argost was going to vanish if they didn't get this show on the road.

"I know you're right, but I just can help, but worr what was that?!" Drew interrupted herself mid sentence. She dropped her box of books and drew her sword activating its inner fire.

"What was what?" Zon screeched.

"I didn't hear anything did you Fisk?" Komodo growled.

"I thought I saw something moving in the shadows, but I can't be so sure. Hold on let me get a good sniff," Fisk told his siblings. He took a deep breath and let his Lemurian senses take over. His senses went into overdrive as the whole world was magnified for him. Fisk suddenly could hear a squirrel two miles away; taste the warm, fresh meat of a kill half a mile south, he literally felt every grain of dirt under his feet. His eyes and ears honed in on the danger and he let out a warning just as Tsul' Kulu, the greatest tracker/hunter appeared in the middle of the group wielding his tomahawk in his right paw/hand and in his left his crossbow.

"What in the world is that thing and how did it sneak in here?" Van Rook demanded, palming two concussive grenades. Before he had a chance to use them Tsul' Kulu shot them out of his hand with his crossbow. Not giving Van Rook a chance to recover he darted forward at lightning fast speeds and kicked the former mercenary square in the chest. The kick had enough force behind it knock the wind right out of him and send him crashing into the side of the airship. He tried to get up once, failed, and fainted face first into the mud.

"Hey, no one kicks Van Rook's but, me!" Doyle growled. He fired his liquid ice at the cryptid humanoid, but was force to retreat via Zon as a tomahawk came flying at his head. "Thanks' for the save Jurassic, but take me back around. I want some answers!"

Zon complied seeing as she wanted answers as well. Diving bombing the tracker she opened her beak wide ready to bite intruder in two, but she was intercepted. Tsul' Kulu leapt into the air and used his sonic flute to disorient her grabbed Zon by her wings and hurled her into Komodo and Fisk who were coming to the rescue. The falling Doyle activated his jetpack just in time to avoid crashing.

"Retreat! We can't fight him here! He's too powerful!" Doc ordered. The family complied and soon raced into the ruins of their home with Fisk giving Van Rook a piggy back ride. Doyle turned on his tracking device trying to get a fix on the cryptid, but nothing was showing up on radar. The whole family was on edge as they stumbled through the broken corridors looking for an escape.

"Alright Professor what's the deal with dog face back there? Why is he hunting us when we didn't do anything to him? And don't say it's none of my business because the safety of _this_ family is mine."

"Tsul' Kulu isn't after us, he's after Zak. He wants to finish what he started all those years ago," Doc muttered. He was feeling along the passage trying to verify if the secret passages were still active. Finding a switch clicked it and a hidden corridor opened. Quickly the family entered letting it shut behind him. Pressing a hand to his blind eye Doc told the rest of the story. How a Zak as little boy had destroyed a Judaculla stone and how he took Zak's place in the fight losing his eye and gaining the hand.

"That's wheeze how you lost…wheeze your eye? I thought Drew ripped it out...when you forgot her birthday or something. She was always a violent little vixen," Van Rook croaked. He was waking up, but was in no condition to walk with six cracked ribs and two bruised up lungs.

"After all the years I thought that we had settled the score with Tsul' Kulu. We should have known he come back. He had the chance to rid the world of Kur and now he's come here to finish the job," Drew whispered.

"He must not have Zak's scent anymore because during his monster puberty his pheromones must have been altered. He's tracking us so we can give up Zak's location," Doc surmised.

"Well we don't know where Zak is exactly. We know who he's with, but how does that help the tracker locate him? I mean I can't even douse for him," Fisk warbled. Before his siblings could retort they stiffened along with everyone else as the heard the sound of a hunting horn. Drew ignited her sword searching the darkness for any sign of the tracker/hunter. In a flash all of them were clutching their head as hazy, white edged visions filled their minds.

_The cryptids all saw the same vision. Their brother was riding in a chariot pulled by two Lulizar (pearly furred talking mares). In one hand he used the power of the Claw to direct cryptids, including them, to destroy the city. Whenever a human came to close to him he drove a dagger straight into his victim's hearts before wiping the blood off on his clothes. "Pathetic humans, your time has passed. The Era of Kur has arrived!"_

_Van Rook and Doyle were caught up in the same vision. They saw the Nagas were enslaving humans, planes were crashing, and humans were dying everywhere. Doyle nearly lost his lunch at the sight of the Secret Scientist being drowned in the water before being devoured by lake monsters such as Champ and Neisse._

_The scariest vision is the one Drew and Doc shared. They saw their only child completely healed and back in his Naga form with poisonous barbs attached to his tail. A tail he had wrapped around the two of them as he squeezed the life out of them. _

"_You always knew this day would come. There was no stopping what was meant to be. It was prophesized that Kur would return to destroy the world and I have! Since you are my parents I'll give you merciful death," Kur laughed at them._

"_Stop this Zak, this isn't you! You swore to protect the world from harm, not destroy it! You promised!"_

"_Promises mean nothing human. You mean nothing to me! I don't need anyone. Die!" _

"_No, this isn't real. This isn't REALLLLLLLLLLL!" Drew screeched. Her fire sword materialized in her hands. Using its power she burned away the visions restoring the group to reality. _

As Drew tried to regain her bearings the rest of the family was doing their best to subdue Tsul' Kulu. Fisk and Komodo were wrestling the tracker. Komodo lashed out with his tail trying to sweep away the archaic weapons and Fisk kept kicking and punching. The trio fell down a shaft and into Drew's old garden. The plants were long since dead so they cushioned the fall. As the three sprang apart Tsul' Kulu used his blow dart gun to sedate Fisk, Komodo, and Zon who rushed to aid her siblings. He then went after Doc who had his battle glove ready.

"Come on lets' finish this! I don't know why you showed us those terrible visions, but I won't let you harm my son!" Doc shouted using all five functions on his glove at close range. The cryptid ducked and the powers hit Van Rook who was coming in for a tackle. Not giving Doc a chance to recover he fired his cross bow pinning Doc firmly to a dense tree trunk unable to break free. Next he flipped Doyle over his head made sure his super adhesive gloves stuck him to a wall. Everyone was trying to break free as he made his way to Drew.

"Don't take another step! I'm warning you!" Drew hissed her blade was glowing so darkly the orange looked black. Tsul' Kulu ignored the danger and kept walking towards her his eyes flashing white. Drew could feel him trying to get into her head, but she refused to yield. Unleashing all her emotions into the strike she sent a fireball the size of a small horse at the Cherokee cryptid. Drew didn't stop she kept up the attack until there was nothing. When the fire dissipated there was nothing left. 

Drew let out the breath she been holding and dropped her sword. "I did it. He's gone and my baby is safe."

"DREW!" 

"SIS!"

To late Drew found herself in the clutches of Tsul' Kulu unable to break free. She kicked at him helplessly, squirming around. "NO! I won't let you hurt my baby. I won't I won't I ah!" Drew's eyes pulsated in sequence with Tsul' Kulu's as their minds connect. Memories of Zak's childhood and all her hopes and fears for him flowed into Tsul' Kulu's mind at the same time the reverse was happening. After a few moments he dropped the woman and took off leaving the Saturday family to themselves.

"DREW! Talk to me Drew? Are you okay? What happened? Did he hurt you?" Doc asked as he cradled his wife in his arms.

"No he didn't. I don't know how to explain it, but I saw into his thoughts, no his heart. He wasn't here to kill Zak that was never his aim."

"Then what the heck does he want with the Mini Man?"

"To save him," Drew said simply, tears falling down her face as she lost the will to stay awake.

In Bhogavatie Rani was sleeping next to her mate trying to keep him warm. All the inhabitants were sad and depressed knowing that the longer Kur remained in a coma the less of a chance he had of waking up. It had nearly a week. If he didn't wake up soon they be celebrating his thirteenth's birthday in five days cremating him. "Vishnu, the greatest of the Hindu Gods, I implore you. Save this child's life."

Suddenly there was a loud commotion coming from the main part of the city. The Nagas and their cryptid guests were in a frenzy trying to hold back Tsul Kulu who was making his way steadily towards the palace and closer to Zak. Rani disentangled herself and hurried to find Thaman who was directing their forces from the balcony. "What does the greatest tracker want with us? Is he here to finish the job the humans started?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm sensing no malice towards Kur. On the contrary his thoughts seem towards saving him. What is your wish my Queen? None of us have found a cure and the uprising is getting worse. Rohini sent word that the Nuckaleeve have taken ships off the coast of Australia and the Nunyenunc has snatched away campers in Yosemite to eat in the mountains. Tsul' Kulu is the greatest tracker of all time. Maybe he can track down Kur's spirit."

"It might be our only option left. Tell the P'eng and Pheng to bring him to my chambers. I'll be waiting there with BG. This better work Thaman or I will kill the entire human race regardless of the blood bond," Rani hissed.

A few minutes later two giant birds of diverse color deposited the tracker right next Kur's bed. In the last half hour parts of Zak's body had begun to decay and he was losing scales. BG growled a warning as the tracker placed his hands on Zak's forehead. His eyes started glowing white and Zak's snapped open revealing the same color. An aura of white light surrounded the two. Everyone watched anxiously praying to Shiva and Vishnu this would work.

Zak's spirit had been trapped for days in a whirlpool of memories and images. Thoughts and images belonging not only to Argost's, but the Secret Scientists, his family, even his own past life were juxposition in his Nagamani nearly drowning the poor boy. "I can't take anymore of this! I want to die!" Zak cried, his spirit was becoming translucent and starting to fade away. "I can't do this anymore. I can't save the world! I can't even save myself. I should just let go."

He started to let go. Zak was allowing his spirit to be swallowed up by the power of the Dreamtime when one image appeared in his mind as clear as a bell. It was the day of his birth with his parents holding him tightly loving him with all their hearts. It gave him the will to fight using his magic to force away the whirlpool. Activating his Kur powers he thought out the essences of a cryptid until one appeared in front of him. It had been years, but he knew Tsul' Kulu when he saw him. "Are you here to take me back to my body?"

Tsul' Kulu nodded and held out a paw hand. Zak took it and in flash found himself back in his body fully awake being embraced by his friends. As he let their love for him fill him he let out a pulse of power signaling to the rampaging man eating cryptids that Kur was back and they should behave. His siblings felt the pulse and were able to relay the good news to his parents who were crying tears of joy that their baby boy wasn't dead. No one noticed Tsul' Kulu slip away as they all planned the biggest thirteenth's birthday bash to celebrate the awakening of their Lord and friend Kur aka Zak Saturday.


	5. Birthday Bash

Hara was cursing his bad luck as he tried in vain to stay warm on the Tibetan mountains as he and his little group of Borytingarna and Gulons made their way up to meet their contact. He was wrapped in several layers of protective clothing, but he still felt the chill in the air. Why couldn't he be back in Bhogavatie preparing Lord Kur's thirteenth's birthday bash? Heck he even would prefer getting his three guests to the party. But no he had to go to Tibet to confirm the truth about Argost! Life sucked big time.

The Gulons, a cryptid that was half lion half hyena with a fox tails and sharp claws growled impatiently. The carrion gluttony eaters were happy to be back in the snow. They were even playing around in the snow play fighting with the Borytingarna, Norwegian trolls. Hara was getting more pissed off by the minute. Finally he couldn't take it any longer. "KNOCK IT OFF WILL YOU?!"

The two cryptids looked at him as he was nuts which he had to be. His shouting caused an avalanche to come roaring towards them! Hara cast a barrier spell in attempt to keep the group safe, but the power of the Avalanche was too much. The barrier was staring to crack. They were going to die! 

That's when two cryptids appeared riding the avalanche like a couple of pro snowboarders. One was reddish brown furred large Dzu-The and the other was a Hayagriva, a humanoid creature with both a human and horse head and six hands, carrying a goad, moose, club, sword, lotus emblem and a skull cap. The protector of the Buddha combined his lotus and sword together. The combined powers of the symbols halted the avalanche in its tracks. The Gulons and Borytingarna cheered, (quietly), while Hara dropped the barrier. Slithering over two cryptids he bowed in respect. "It is an honor to meet the two of you in person. I was beginning to think we wouldn't find you."

"Don't you know better then to start an avalanche? Never mind that, the monastery is not far from here, we should reach in half an hour. The monks and their guests are expecting us. We should go now," Hayagriva informed the group. He started to turn around and leave when Hara stopped him with a paralyzing spell. Hayagriva looked at him angrily. "Release me Naga! Why have you attacked me?"

"When we agreed to meet to find out the truth about Argost you did not mention humans! Our Lord and savior Kur just awoke from a coma a few days ago! I am hesitant to trust humans who might harm Kur. How do I know these monks and their guest will not harm me to get to Kur?"

"If what you suspect about Argost being my cousin the Yeti is true, then we need the monks help to confirm this. They have battled him for decades and have knowledge of his weakness. The two of us have worked with them for years. They are as trustworthy as we are. As for their guests, I assure you that Kur's mother, uncle, and newly named godfather would not harm him. They are anxious for news. Now come and warm yourself up at the monastery," Dzu-The reassured them. With no other choice they headed towards the Tibetan monastery praying that this wasn't a trap for Kur's lieutenant.

Meanwhile in Bhogavatie everyone was giddy with excitement as they planned Kur's birthday bash. Human allies from all over the globe as well as cryptids had been invited as an act of good faith. It was important for the alliance to know they could count on one another after their scare. Everyone had worked together to create the biggest and best birthday party the world had ever seen.

They had streamers, banners, balloons, you name the decoration they had it. A smorgasbord of food from every culture imagined was set out on several tables. Modern music and cool games had been planned. There were two huge piles of presents one from humans and one from cryptids. While most of the cryptid presents were food offerings or similar things, the human presents were all wrapped up nicely in boxes. Everyone was waiting for the final three guests to arrive so the man of the hour would appear. They didn't have to wait long.

"Unhand me this instant you vile snake! I am the King of Khamri Kadem! I will not be treated this way!" Ulraij shouted, pounding his fists into Rana, who was ready to squeeze the boy king to death if he didn't quit it. She looked over at Anand who had Frances wrapped up in his coils and Rohini who had a struggling Wadi. Both teens were fighting with their weapons of choice trying to get free.

"That's enough out of you three! You are the honored guests of the man of the hour! You will treat us with respect or you will be thrown into the dungeon until you behave!" Rana snarled, releasing Ulraij.

"What are you talking about? You attacked me and dragged me from my home to here, not telling me anything except to bring a gift for someone important!" The King straightened his clothes and then to appease the growling female, he removed from his pocket a small pouch.

"For someone who is the ruler of his people you aren't to bright are you?" Francis sarcastically quipped. He was out of his secret agent clothes and wearing a pair of slacks, a black polo shirt and Raeburn shades. He had a small green wrapped box in his hands. On his wrist was a new watch that doubled as a sonic disrupter. "Like you I have no love for Nagas, but I don't think they brought us here to harm us. I think the opposite is true considering how careful they were bringing us here."

"You're correct young human. Our Lord and master sent us to personally fetch you for this party. He has missed your company greatly and will be pleased to see you. However there are few conditions you must agree to before he arrives," Anand said to the trio.

"Conditions? We'll agree to whatever you want just let us see Zak. We've been worried about sick about him for the past three months ever since his mom said he ran off. When I saw that picture of him online I was scared that his Kur powers were changing him into some type of monster. I couldn't bear that," Wadi admitted quietly.

"Lord Kur is perfectly safe young female. His scales are just a natural by product of using powerful magic to revive us from our slumber. Since then Kur has grown stronger with his powers. His mastery of magic is on the level of master sorcerer. Oh and for the record Francis, his intelligence has spiked a few IQ points. As you three can see our alliance is preparing for war against Argost. We intend to stop the threat he posses once and for all. To that end we also to create a world were humans and cryptids are equals. The two conditions you three must agree with are that you and your people must join our alliance. The second is that you must not reveal the location of Kur to anyone. The chance for assassination is far too great! Do you three agree to this?" Rohini questioned the three.

"Yes!"

"Good! Then put your presents on the table and join us. The guest of honor will be arriving once he finishes getting dressed." The trio did as they were told and started mingling with the other guest. Suddenly Rani Naga appeared wearing a red sari around her body and gold jewelry. Standing next to her was Zak, dressed in bright green and purple clothes carrying the Claw with his familiars who had been hennaed for the occasion. Upon seeing him all his guest started singing an _aarti _song, an Indian birthday ritual to ward off evil. Rani completed the ceremony by sprinkling a few grains of rice over his head before presenting him with a small lamp with a burning flame. The flame represented the sun and provides warmth for his soul. His lieutenants then released thirteen birds, a Thai tradition to ask for luck for the next year.

Zak smiled and waved at all his guests. "Thanks everyone for coming today! I can tell this is going to be the best birthday ever! I can't wait to see what you guys got me! So let's get this party started! Turn that music up!"

Pretty soon Rascal Flatt's "Still Feels Good" was blaring out the speakers. Humans and cryptids took to the dance floor laughing and having fun. Some guests were chowing down like no tomorrow enjoying the sushi, rice balls, and fresh fruit and juice. Already some of the cryptids, such as the Chamrosh, a winged dog from Mesopotamian legend were having races with a group of Alans, brown furred humanoids with bird wings and their hands and feet facing backwards, were having races to see who were the fastest. As Zak greeted his guests he got sight of his three friends. A smile graced his face and he ran over to greet them.

"Wadi, Ulraij, Frances you made it! You don't know how much I have missed you guys! What's up?"

"What's up? That's all you can say after the way you made us worry about you? What were you thinking? Taking off like that and not telling anyone were you were going! Did you ever think as your friends we might have been able to help you with your problems? Well?" Wadi demanded, after socking him in the right arm, jostling the Claw. Ulraij and Frances were treated to the rare sight of the mighty Kur being put in his place as Wadi continued to punch him in the arms and chest.

"_Dang it boss, apologize to her right now before she causes us brain damage," _Cercrops pleaded. His counterpart also urged him to get the violent female to stop.

"Wadi, stop it please I'm sorry! I know you guys are my friends and that you would do anything for me, but you don't have a clue what was happening at home. As I'm sure Clone Boy here can attest to the Secret Scientist were planning on freezing me for all eternity! I was scared guys. I was having visions of Argost taking over the world, my powers both Kur and magical, were getting out of control and I had to hide so much from my family to protect them. It may have been the wrong choice to run, but I did make it out of love for the ones I care about. I'm sorry I didn't contact you guys sooner," Zak said, hugging Wadi tightly and looking at his other two friends with a pleading expression.

"Three months ago I would have said you were being your usual predictable and over caring self, but after evaluating my own life and coming close to being frozen myself I can understand why you feel that way," Francis admitted. The Agency had wanted to terminate the defective clone because of his blindness. Never before had a clone of their perfect agent been defective. Epsilon had decided to give him a chance, but he kept disappointing his "father". His decision to defect from the Secret Scientist wasn't only to show his support for Zak, but to find a life for himself. "Out of curiosity how did you know I was a clone?"

"You're kidding right Francis? No one is that much of a Daddy's Boy without a reason! I had some gremlins cause some technical problems in the Agency's mainframe and discovered the truth. If you want, I think my Nagamani can heal your blindness if you let me."

"I'll think about it."

"So you are now King of the Nagas and all cryptids. I hope my lessons on how to royally behave came in handy," Ulraij interjected. Secretly he was pleased at how far Zak had come, but more importantly they were now equals.

"Yeah right Ulraij. Unlike you who is pampered and fed chocolates all day, I'm busy ruling over the Nagas making sure they don't slip up. Did I mention I also have lessons to attend or the fact I'm trying to create an army to take on Argost while avoiding being sent to the deep freeze? You know what forget it okay? Let's go have fun! I heard they got laser tag!" Zak said. The four of them took off running, intending to enjoy themselves at the party.

Back in Tibet the monks had welcomed the cryptid group. Hara was downing cup after cup of tea trying to warm up, while the Gulons and Borytingarna were munching on leg of Yak. Hayagriva was meditating on a prayer mat next to a Buddha statue while Dzu-The fetched Kur's relations. Hara eyed Drew, Doyle, and Van Rook suspiciously as they entered the room. He was surprised there were no cryptid members with them, but he supposed they were with Doc doing something important. "It is an honor to be in the presence of Kur's relations. How are you doing?"

"It's an honor to be with us? Jeez that's the warmest reception we've ever gotten."

"Shut up former apprentice before the monks throw us out in the cold!"

"Van Rook, Doyle enough! I apologize for their behavior, but it was a shock to hear from the monks that a Naga, two Gulons, and a trio of Borytingarna were being escorted to the monastery by my childhood friends Dzu-The and Hayagriva. I know why I came here, but why did you come?"

"For the same reasons I suspect you came here Kur's Mother. To put you at ease, Tsul Kulu awakened Kur from his coma and at this moment he is in our home celebrating his thirteenth birthday with everyone in our alliance. It is the biggest celebration the world has ever seen. I wish I was there, but our Queen and mage thought it would be best if I verified our suspicions about Argost," Hara said, still shivering like a wet rag. His body wanted to shut down into torpor. The monk's quickly brought him some heavy clothing to wrap his body up in. After slurping down another bowl of tea he thanked the monks.

"The Nagas have reason to believe that Argost is not human, but a cryptid. My cousin, the Yeti, to be exact. Their evidence is very compelling and I think that we should take them to his old lair," Dzu-The explained to the group.

"Hold up you think that Argost is the same creature who killed our parents and separated us?" Doyle demanded. Drew looked at her brother shocked. She had only just found out that the Yeti had killed her parents an hour ago. The monks thought it would be best not to tell her the truth to spare her some pain.

"If your suspicions are true that would explain the sudden halt of Yeti attacks sixteen years ago. We had hoped the creature had moved on, but to think he decided to enter the human world is disturbing. Are you sure?" the monk asked.

"It does not matter if they are sure or not. The question must be answered to discover the hidden truth. Our journey must be swift. Something tells me that what we'll find will change the course," Hayagriva calmly explained.

"Don't tell me we have to go back out in the freezing cold? I just got warm!" Van Rook complained, while the Gulons and Borytingarna cheered. This was turning into an interesting day. Bundling up tightly they headed out for the Yeti's old lair to confirm their worst fears.

Meanwhile on another continent Doc and the siblings had entered a truce with the Secret Scientists. In exchange for helping Beamman get rid of a Questing Beast aka Revolving Beast from his lab the Secret Scientist had agreed to stop pursing Zak, wherever he was, for at least three months. They were lucky to get that.

So Fisk, Komodo, and Zon were triple teaming the Beast trying to get it to overwhelm its shape shifting. Zon dive bombed the creature ready to rip off part of its body, but it changed into a creature of the air. It was an aerial dog fight as Zon tried to beat the Beast off with her wings. Arms sprouted out from its chest grabbing parts of Zon's body attempting to strangle her.

"Help me! Help!" 

"Zon! Fisk, I know I'm not Zak, but throw me!" Komodo screeched. Fisk picked him up and twirled him around before releasing him like a throwing star at the Beast. Komodo turned invisible in attempt to surprise the Beast, but it sensed his approach. Transforming again he held onto both of them trying to kill them. Miranda Gray used her teleport gun to transport them to safety.

"Zon! Komodo are you okay? It doesn't make any sense! Questing Beasts don't live on this continent nor do they try to kill fellow cryptids. Their only super aggressive when they're being hunted! Arthur, what did you do?" Doc demanded, as he, Cheyvo and Mizuki attacked at once only to be repelled.

"Me? Your monster of an offspring is the cause all this! I bet he sent this thing to prevent us from deep freezing him!"

"You are not blaming my son for your mistake!"

"Will you two turn down the testosterone already?! It doesn't matter why that creature is here or who sent it. The important thing is that we deal with this creature now!" Paganastan shouted, smacking both of them in the back of the head. She didn't believe that Zak sent this thing, her hypothesis was that Argost sent it to keep them busy, but why?

The party was hitting the high points as the kids were playing party games. Many guest were involved in a mahjong tournament, cryptids were racing or having wrestling matches. Some people were swimming and playing water polo. Zak and his friends were running around the maze playing laser tag. Frances and Ulraij were winning, but Wadi and he were quickly getting the upper hand.

"You two are going down! Take this!" Zak laughed blasting his laser gun. Francis and Ulraij rolled out of the way right into Wadi who landed several hits on their chests. "Oh man you guys are weak!"

"Take that back birthday boy!" Francis bellowed firing his own gun. Zak grinned and threw up a magical shield. "Hey, no fair!"

"Don't worry I'll get him. You may know magic Zak, but I'll still beat you in a fist fight! You can't fool my senses!" Ulraij mentioned. He drew back his fist ready to destroy the shield when Zak dropped. Ulraij couldn't stop his momentum which carried him forward, so Zak used the Claw to flip him on his back and blasted him with his laser gun. "Game Point! Wadi and I win!"

"I must say this was the most fun I've had in a long time. Your birthday party is more exciting then I dreamed it would be. Oh before I forget," Wadi whispered she leaned in and gave Zak a kiss on the cheek causing him to blush bright red. "If you ever get tired of your snake queen you have my number. Come on boys lets go play Dance Dance Revolution."

"_Whoa she must really like you Kur! She's perfect second mate for you!" _Cercrops hissed in delight.

"_If Rani doesn't kill her first that is. Rani has power, brains, and a great personality, but Wadi has a sense of humor, beauty, and is close to your age. To bad the mighty Kur can't merged the girls into one person!" _Kitchi-At'husis murmured.

"Will you two put a sock in it? I don't need to hear about your sick fantasies on my birthday. Now come, we still have another half hour before dinner and my presents! Man I hope I got the moped I wanted!" Zak scolded them before heading off to more play.

The expedition in Tibet had finally reached the cave of the Yeti. Dzu-The and Hayagriva entered the cave first. After determining there was no one there the rest of the group came in. The Gulons started sniffing around trying to pick up the scent; the trio of Borytingarna started examining the walls searching for hidden chambers while the humans took stock of the scattered items on the cave floor. It was eerily quite inside.

"All these items, the old blood stains. He wasn't hunting for food, but sport. It's despicable," Van Rook muttered, as he looked over the bones and stolen items littering one corner of the cave.

"This place doesn't look like its been lived in for years," Doyle commented. He picked up some old camping equipment, a broken camera. He kicked a tattered duffle bag out of the way. Suddenly a frayed old photo fell out. He picked it up and gasped. "Drew! Look!"

"What do you have there? Oh my God it's our parents. They really were killed by the Yeti," Drew said gasping for breath, as she held back the tears of seeing her parent's picture.

Dzu-The cleared his throat, showing the group a mold he found. "I think we can confirm Argost's real identity. My cousin _is _the Yeti."

"Unbelievable. The monster that we have tried to destroy for so long has been in the real world for years!"

"When I find Argost I'm going to kill him with my bare hands!"

"Hold on a second human, something is amiss," Hara said, his snake body coiled around some straw. His hands were glowing black as he used his magic.

"Hold on? That fiend killed my parents and tried to kill my nephew! I thought you would want vengeance too!"

"Kur's Uncle don't mistake my words. I do want Argost dead for many reasons besides harming Kur, but that is not why I asked you to be still. Using my magic I have sense Argost essence in here. Not from years ago, but about nine months ago. Isn't that when you defeated him in Antarctica and he disappeared? Your family may not be aware of this, but when we took Kur during his puberty it was up to me and Anand to ensure Argost didn't interfere. That's why we trashed Weird World, but the strange thing was he wasn't there. He must have come here to regain his health. If he came back here to recuperate he must have had a reason. If we have any hope of stopping him we need to know why he came back here."

Suddenly the two Gulons started howling like mad. They kept trying dig under a wall of ice. The trio of Borytingarna joined in their efforts grunting and wheezing in their own language. With one last push the five of them manage to demolish the wall revealing a hidden chamber. The five of them yipped in delight happy to have made the discovery.

"Good job my friends. Hayagriva, would you check to see if the chamber is safe first?" Hara asked.

"Of course," the six arm Buddha protector said. Carrying a lit torch he entered the chamber. At first he couldn't see anything, but he soon found a fire bowl. Touching it with his torch the fire spread throughout the room revealing a shocking secret. "You might want to get in here. There's something you need to see."

Everyone made their way into the chamber and were stunned. Ancient writing similar to Sumerian was written all over the walls. There was also a large ceremonial stone alter with two disfigured statues. A pool of crystal clear water, unaffected by the temperature was in one corner with a small garden next to it. Precious gems littered the cavern ceiling.

"What is all this? In all our centuries of being here we have never come across something like this before," the monk said. "Is this some kind of prayer chamber?"

"You could call it that, but this is not a place to worship a God of any kind. This is place for preparing to kill one," Dzu-The respond, shivers going down his spine. The other cryptids showed similar signs of discomfort. The humans were starting to feel an evil vibe from the room.

"Killing a God? What the heck are you talking about? Drew, what do those writings say?" Can you translate this?" Van Rook asked.

"No, it may look like Sumerian, but it there are subtle differences. I can't understand this."

"That is because it is the language of the cryptids. These writing look like the tell story of Kur and his fight against the Evil Ones. The later parts tell how he fought to protect the ancient world. His final battle to save the ancient world and preserved his spirits to fight against the return of the Evil Ones. At least from what I can tell, my ancient cryptid is rusty."

"Saved, evil ones, protect the ancient world? What are you talking about? Wasn't Kur like the biggest, badest, nastiest cryptid to ever live?" Doyle asked confused.

"Mr. Blackwell our teachings tell us there is always more to a story then what the victors write. The truth will always come out one way or another," the monk replied.

"He's right as I'm sure Hara can testify that the Aborigines told Zak about how Kur was a savior as well as menace. Drew, I think its time you learned the truth about your son's past and what is really at stake here. I shall translate," Hayagriva kindly informed her. Everyone gather close by the fire and listened as story not heard in centuries came to light.

"Millenniums ago around the time of the ancient Sumerians several powerful cryptids came to be. Many like Lotan, the seven head dragon of Chaos and the deadly and powerful Manticore wanted nothing more then to ravage the humans, destroying everything in their path. They ravaged the lands and slain thousands of humans. The early civilizations counter attack hunting down innocent cryptids as well as the Evil Ones. The war would have continued if one cryptid, a dragon humanoid blessed with the power to connect with others along with the special gift of dream prophecy was born. You know him as Kur."

"Dream prophecy? What the heck is that?"

"It is the ability to foresee the future through dreams. It is a rare and powerful gift. Not even our mage Thaman has that power. Kur original purpose for coming to us was to help him understand his dream vision. Oh I'm sorry for interrupting. Go on."

"Kur had a dream of the future where nothing existed so he took matters into his own hands. With his ability to connect with other humans he went after the Evil Ones in attempt to stop them. It was a fierce battle. Creatures like they Nyan, a fresh water giant worm that eats elephants, and the Ropen, a pterandon creature with diamond tail, were banished to the far corners of the globe. Others, such as the Zu, a giant bird with a lion's body and eagle's head were destroyed. The Yeti was one of the banished sent here to these frozen mountains by Kur's power. Once the evil ones were gone the difficult task of protecting the future began. Kur knew that the only way to save the world was to make him the biggest threat. Then hopefully some of the cryptids he freed from his control would join forces with the Sumerians."

"Wait are you saying that Kur defeated the real evil and then came up with a plan to use create a minor war in hopes that humans and cryptids would get along? That doesn't make any sense."

"It does Doyle. A merc will create a minor problem in hopes to get a bigger payout. A war with Kur benefits both humans and cryptids if you look at it close enough."

"Van Rook is right. As the Aborigines told Zak by working together they learn to trust each other and save their fragile world. Peace reigned and cryptids become immortalized in legends and humans appreciated nature more. When Kur was satisfied that the future was saved he took to preserving his essences into the Kur Stone. You see he had another prophetic dream. According to these markings he foresaw that Yeti line would pass their hate for Kur from one generation to the next until one would discover the means to take his power and destroy the world once and for all. This chamber was used to prepare that day. To combat that terrible future he left his essence in the Kur Stone knowing that a person of great valor and pure heart would inherit his power. Zak was destined for this power. That's the whole story. Argost must have been using this chamber to find way to take Zak's power from him."

"This is a lot to take in right now. My son was chosen for this power long before his birth. Wait if Argost left here does that mean he succeeded in figuring out a way to take Zak's powers from him? How would he even be able to do something like that?!"

"The Epic of Gilgamesh! You said that you recovered it? If Argost discovered in the chamber it held a clue to gaining Kur's powers. Kur's mother where are his father and siblings now?" Hara asked urgently.

"Helping the Secret Scientists with a Questing Beast? Why? You don't think Argost sent it to," Drew started to say

"To divide us up! Argost didn't want us interfering when he goes after Zak so he made sure to keep us occupied," Doyle finished.

"That also explains the thefts from the airship and Paris where the Smoke Mirror was kept. But where is he now,"

Hara didn't answer, but rudely brushed past the group to the pool of water. Chanting a scrying spell he prayed that he was wrong. The whole group gasped as the pool of water rippled and then showed an all out attack was occurring in Bhogavatie. The birthday party had turned into a fight to survive.

The alliance was battling against an army led by Munya with Argost in the back. Calchonas, giant dogs with goat's fur who loved to kill travelers, were battling against Frances, some Nagas and group of human allies. Nearby they saw Ulraij teaming up with a Kamaitachi, giant sickle carrying weasels, against blood sucking monsters from Baffin Island known as Erqigdlit. Wadi was using her yo yo to combat the soul sucking jaguar-tapir, a red and gold creature with black spots and wicked claws. There was no sign of Zak. The pool dissolved leaving everyone frantic and scared for what was happening.

Twenty minutes earlier Zak had just finished his birthday cake and was opening his presents. From the cryptids he got riches, plants, and even bones. From the human allies he got clothes, games, and some DVDs. Francis had gotten him two books. One was on legends from the world and the other was a puzzle book. Ulraij had given him some valuable shells, and Wadi had gotten him a skateboard (not stolen!). He was about to open his gift from Rani when Argost attacked. Instantly the party dissolved into chaos.

Zak was in the middle of the fray, his eyes blazing as he connected with every cryptid there. He jumped from body to body helping out with every fight. Using his magic bound several of the attackers or disabled him. When Munya came after him he stabbed him with his dagger. "You and your stupid master ruined my party I'm going to kill you!"

"On the contrary boy, you are going to die! I came here to get you and one other prize. For too long you have evaded me. Now prepare to give me your power!" Argost cackled.

"Come and get me Argost! One of us isn't going to walk away from this!" Zak growled ready for the fight.

As this was going on everyone was trying to get out of the city and to the surface. All the fighting was taking a toll on the roof. Already parts of the city were collapsing. Anand and Rohini had managed to evacuate most of the humans and cryptids. Rana had gone to secure the Flute of Gilgamesh knowing that's what Argost wanted. Frances, Ulraij, and Thaman had gone to help Zak leaving Wadi to fight against her opponent with Rani's help.

"Don't let that creature touch you with his nose! It will suck your soul out," Rani warned throwing boulders with her four arms as the creature. Her body was taking a lot of damage from the creature's claws. Twisting her body out of the way she fired a magical blast at the creature. It caught the blast in its jaws and sent it back to her. Wadi used her yo yo to break it up. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Does this thing have any weakness?" Wadi asked. Before Rani could respond the creature leapt on top of her pinning Wadi to the ground. She kicked and scratched desperate to get it off her, but to no avail. She let out a scream as her soul started to be sucked out of her body.

Zak heard the scream was momentarily distracted giving Argost a chance to claw him leaving a deep gash on his cheek just below his right eye. Argost was happy with his prize of a lock of Zak's hair. "You shouldn't let the troubles of your females bother you child."

"Shut the heck up!" Zak cried firing his claw at him. His two familiars' sank their teeth into his mask and with a formidable tug he ripped it off revealing the Yeti underneath. Not taking the time to process this Zak gathered his powers in spirit form and unleashed on the man.

Argost wailed in pain before attacking with his usual cryptid insects. The swarm ate up Zak power and latched themselves on his body draining his life essences. He collapsed to the ground unable to move. The last thing he saw before losing conscience was Argost shoes coming closer.

"Finally after millenniums of plotting, false starts, and obstacles the Yeti will have their revenge. Ha ha ha!" Argost laughed as he reached for the boy. Just before he could touch Zak he was under a barrage of throwing sea stars curtsey of Ulraij. Not giving him a chance to recover Francis used his sonic watch to force the beast back. Thaman used a spell to hit him with a statue. Knowing he lost his chance to take the boy he glance at Munya and smiled seeing the Flute in his clutches. "I may have lost this battle, but the war has just begun. Soon my kind will rule again! Ta ta for now!" With that the TV personality and the remainder of his army left the collapsing city.

_Zak found himself hovering in air on island in the middle of nowhere. It was night and Argost looked battered and bruised from his fight with him earlier. Munya had used his webs to tie up the Questing Beast that had returned from its assault. Only it didn't look like itself anymore. Argost had injected Zak's DNA into transforming the creature into a green version of Zak._

"_Munya, you better hope this works or you will suffer for allowing a thirteen year old to get the better of you," Argost chided, completely ignoring the bleeding gash in his manservant's chest. Instead he placed the Smoke Mirror in front of the struggling cryptid. _

_There was a flash of green light and smoke poured out of the mirror as Zak Monday appeared. The little evil master mind was looking for something to hurt when he was ambushed from behind by Munya. Using his annelids and the Flute Argost stole his power making it his own. As he tossed the boy's body into the ocean he laughed declaring to the world the war had begun._

Zak woke up shooting straight up only to wince in pain. Immediately Frances and Ulraij were by his side. "Argost! He stole Zak Monday's power and is planning to launch a war against the human race!"

"Easy there Zak. Argost did a number on you. You're in no condition to battle him right now," Ulraij said.

"That attack took out half our forces. Many in the alliance are severally injured and ten people and dozen cryptids are dead. That's not the worse of it though. You better come see this," Frances told the boy, helping him to his feet.

Zak was lead to tent were both Rani and Wadi were lying on floor mats. Wadi was breathing heavily and deathly pale, half her soul gone. Rani body was damaged beyond repair. She had protected Wadi when the roof collapsed on top of the two of them. She had barely managed to get to them to safety. Thaman had tried everything to save them, but none of his spells were working.

"My Lord, there is nothing more I can do. Both will die with in the hour."

"NO! I can't lose both of them! What about my Nagamani? Can't it heal them? What about modifying that resurrection spell? Thaman please there has to be something I can do!"

"Even your Nagamani can't fix this situation. That spell you used to revive us wasn't what you thought it was. We weren't exactly dead, just in suspended animation until you sped up our amrita to wake us up. I'm sorry there is nothing you can do."

"There… is…something… you can…do Kur," Rani coughed. Zak clutched her hand in his tears streaming down his face. "The girl's soul is weak and frail, but her body is healthy, while mine is damaged beyond repair, but my soul is strong. If you combine us as one both of us will survive. Wadi…would be… the dominant personality, but my spirit would live on in her and eventually my powers as well. It's the only way."

"I'll miss you Rani," Zak blubbered. Knowing there wasn't a lot of time he set up the reincarnation ritual drawing blood seals and mixing up a potion he poured down Wadi's throat. Everyone watched with baited anticipation as he placed one hand on each girl chanting. Both girls' auras become visible, Rani was yellow black and Wadi was a purple black. A white mist left Rani's body and entered Wadi's.

Wadi's eyes opened and she clutched her head. She felt strange and was puzzled why all the Naga were bowing to her. But it didn't matter when Zak hugged her tightly crying tears of joy. There would be time to figure it out later. Right now they had a war to prepare for.


	6. The Battle to End all Battles

The war between cryptids and humanity had begun. All over the globe in every country and on every continent an army of destructive and dangerous power was terrorizing the people of Earth. Many were running, screaming in terror. Others had been gravely injured and death would be interment if no one got them medical attention. News reports from all over the globe poured in trying to make sense for the reason behind the attacks. All that was certain were the once famous TV celebrity was in fact a terrifying monster leading the charge in Washington D.C.!

The Secret Scientist and Epsilon's Agency were spread too thin trying to contain the mess. Forget about covering it up, nothing would make the people of the world forget this! None of their specialties had prepared them for a full scale world wide invasion and their forces were too small and spread out to combat the disaster properly.

For example Mizuki and his pet were fighting in Tokyo against a group of Hai Riyo, creatures with dragon heads and giant bird bodies. The normally docile and protective group of cryptids were ripping up buildings and trying to snack on the residents. The police had joined forces with Mizuki, after some rather in depth explaining, and were trying to herd the creatures into a cage, but they weren't going. In fact the more they tried to contain them, the more they fought to be free!

"Kami, this isn't working! None of our weapons can pierce those feathers! It's like trying to drill through diamonds!" one officer complained, as he tossed his weapon aside in frustration.

"We can't and won't give up! It is our sworn duty to defeat these monsters and that is what we're going to do!" His captain yelled at him.

"Captain, I'm going to try and bring them down. Watch my back! Kai, let's go boy!" Mizuki ordered his tiger. The duo leapt into the air. Kai managed to land on one of the Hai Riyo's wings. The cryptids feathers made have been as hard as diamond, but they were slippery then a snake skin. As the white tiger struggled to get a grip on the creatures wing it lashed out with one its giant claws. Kai swatted at it with his puny paws, but roared in pain as a deep gash appeared in his flank. With fire burning in his eyes he bit down hard. The creature let out a roar and started dive bombing towards the pavement. Kai leapt onto a passing flagpole just as the creature smashed into the ground. That was one down, only about a dozen more to go.

Elsewhere Dr. Bara, Cheecho and his team were in South America combating cryptids from Mayan mythology that had been sleeping for centuries until Argost rudely awakened them for his own evil purpose. Dr. Bara was trying to use his dream charm on the four primordial world birds: Cotzbalam, Camazortz, Tecumbalam, & lastly Gucumatz. The birds were the size of a large RV and had dull feathered bodies with rainbow wings and massive talons and large beaks. They kept diving bombing the group trying to rip them to pieces like they had done millenniums ago to the ancient Mayans.

"Watch out! I'm starting to wish we hadn't scared off Zak! He's the only one who can get these creatures to calm down!" Cheecho yelled, rolling out of the way. He fired some drill bits from his geology equipment into the Camazortz tail. The giant bird let out a screech of pain as blood started squirting from the wound. Its friends so the attack and went after Cheecho. One of his men pushed him out of the way and ended up breakfast for both Tecumbalam and Gucumatz who ripped him in two.

"Diego! No!"

"Cheecho! Keep it together! The fate of the whole world is more important then one man! We need to slay these beasts pronto!" Bara bellowed at his companion. Pulling out a dream talisman shaped like a giant bird leg with a black pearl clutched between its talons. Chanting a spell, the black pearl lit up and beam of dream energy blasted out casting a net of protection over the group. The four birds ripped and smashed against barrier trying to get at the humans. Every time the quartet attacked the barrier the weaker it got. If they didn't figure out something soon they were going to die.

It was the same story with every other Secret Scientist group all over the world. In Europe Cheveyo and Odelie were having difficulties against the Zmag Oghjeni Vuk (former ruler turned fire breathing werewolf with saber shaped birthmark) and the Yale (a creature the size of a horse, the body of a goat, with the tusks and tail of a boar). Neither the astronomer nor meteorologist knew how to handle something like this. In South Africa Dr. Paganastan was covering her bloody right eye. The sixty foot long stumpy legged half snakehead fish and horse creature with hypnotic eyes and crocodile teeth had attempted to drown her. She had deliberately injured her own eyes to break free from its grip. In New Zealand Epsilon and his agents were getting their asses handed to them by the Parata, a giant eel/dragon with an enormous body and mouth it used for creating whirlpools. None of their high tech weapons were any use against the behemoths

"Epsilon, nothing we do harms the beast! What do you think we should do?" One of the agents asked, after the Parata nearly drowned the small group.

"I….I…..I'm unsure what to do! Nothing like this has happened in the entire history of the Agency before. I do not have a solution to this conundrum," Epsilon admitted, startling the group. Never in a hundred years had their best field agent been unable to come up with a strategy to win.

In Washington D.C. Miranda, Beamman were up against a wall literally as the two smelly and ferocious Skunk Apes pinned the two scientists to the side of the Lincoln Memorial. The two of them had been fighting off some of Skree who intended to dismantle Beamman's ship. The Beamman had tried to electrocute them, but their feathers had insulated them from the charge. Before Miranda or Beamman could react they had been violently ejected from the ship. Hovering in the air on the back of a giant Thunderbird was Argost using his dark powers to manipulate the cryptid army into killing hundreds.

"This…is…not…how…I….pictured my death," Beamman gasped, unable to reach his laser beam.

"We're….not…going…to….die!" Miranda wheezed, as she managed to get a hold of her teleporting gun. Flipping a switch for maximum distance she aimed it at the two creatures. One Skunk Ape tried to knock the device away, but it was too late. The device crackled to life and zapped the two creatures to the other side of the country. As they caught their breath they saw that D.C. was being overwhelmed by cryptids ranging from giant Mokele Mbembe to Thelgeth (headless hairy man-eating monsters from Navajo legend). Argost himself was riding the back of a Fire Drake, the creature that killed the hero Beowulf and was heading for the White House. "I hate to say this Arthur, but I don't think we're going to win this one."

"I refuse to bow down and let Argost take over the world. Come on Miranda we can do this. We don't need Doc and his family, heck we don't need Kur to win this fight!" Beamman yelled at her, dragging her to the feet. The two ran after Argost dodging in between the rampaging cryptids. The army and the police were shooting at missiles, guns, anything they had. Animal Control was running for their lives as Skree, Allegewi, Algerian Sea Centipede, Vlata River Sprites, Cherufes, Mokele Mbembes, Migas, Mississauga Blob continued to rampage and destroy the Mall.

Argost was laughing, his green glowing eyes connecting him with his entire army. "That's it my beauties destroy this wretched place! Slaughter the humans! The Era of Argost's has begun!" He was still laughing when his Megatooth Sharkskin cloak caught on fire. As he struggled to put out the fire he saw the Saturday family fast approaching. Doc was piloting the _Gryphon_ his targets locked. Flanking him on either side were Van Rook and Doyle tossing concussive grenades and shooting lasers. Riding on the back of an Ahool was Drew and she was aiming for blood. "ARGOST! YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!" Drew shouted, unleashing another blast from her sword. The streaming fire dragon wrapped itself around the Yeti trying to burn him alive. Argost hurled the garment to the ground and activated his power. His green eyes lit up and surged around his body forming a protective barrier blocking any further attacks. "

Nice try Madame, but your weak weapons won't penetrate this force field!"

"That doesn't mean we can't try! You're going to pay for killing our parents!" Doyle shouted. Ignoring Van Rook's warning to wait, Doyle rocketed forward. He fired several shots from his wrist mounted laser trying to make a dent in the field, but it just absorbed the laser. Argost's snapped his fingers and the energy traveled backwards through the air and blew up his jetpack and laser beam. Tossing of the faulty equipment Doyle began hopping across Ahool's backs until he launched himself on Argost. The former TV personality and mercenary were locked in battle as they plunged towards the Reflecting Pool. "WHY? WHY did you murder my parents? What did they ever do you monster?" Doyle demanded as he slammed Argost's jaw.

He winced as the bone was stronger then he expected and it didn't accomplish anything, but damage his own hand. "They were simply in the wrong place and the wrong time Mr. Blackwell! My kind had been killing curious humans for centuries in our quest to take our revenge on Kur and humanity," Argost growled. Faster then the eye could he sliced open the jugular vein. Blood was spewing everywhere and Doyle was starting to loose conscience. "Ironically if I had slaughtered your sister instead of your parents then I would have prevent the return of Kur and stolen his essence without trouble. Oh well no time like the present to correct the mistakes. Good bye Mr. Blackwell, tell your parents I said hi,"

Argost hurled the near dead body towards the ground. Miranda used her gun to teleport his body to safety. As everyone rushed to check on Doyle condition, Argost landed on top the WWII memorial on the side of the pool. He was laughing and hooting in joy. Thanks to his powers he knew that his army was winning the war. No one could resist them. Soon humanity would be wiped out, all cryptids would have to submit to his rule and finally the Yeti would control the whole world like it should have been eons ago. "It's over! You have nothing left that can stop me! Abandon all hope and accept your defeat and I might spare your lives!"

"Why don't you shut up and submit to _us_?" A voice echoed across the Mall. The voice caused everyone and everything to halt in their tracks. Slowly they turned to look up on the roof of the Lincoln Memorial. Astride on the back of the Feng Hwang (Chinese phoenix with a pheasant's head and peacock body) was Zak Saturday! He was wearing battle armor forged from the skins of the fallen Illuyankas, an ancient three headed dragon from Mesopotamia the original Kur had slain. The hide was so thick nothing could penetrate it. On his head he wore a silver and gold crown that wrapped itself around his Nagamani, which was pulsating blue. His scales now covered his hands and his hair was down to his back. The most startling change, besides his glowing snake eyes, was that he was a whole foot and a half taller. In his right hand he carried an armored Claw with equally protected Kitchi-At'husis and Cercrops and in his left was his dagger. Zak slid off the back of the creature and was joined by his companions; Wadi and BG. Popping out of the woodworks were several cryptid, Nagas, and human allies.

Wadi looked a little different. She still wore the traditional Hassi clothing, but now she also had on gold arm bands, orange vest, and snake crown. She was a bit taller and her limbs were more lithe and flexible. BG was standing next to her growling protectively howling at Argost _daring _him to go after Zak. Wadi was carrying a weapon as well. Instead of her yo yo she now held a silver dagger in her right hand.

"Greetings and benauve young Kur. I'm surprised that you're still alive after the blows I left you back in Bhogavatie. Ah and your little girlfriend is alive. I guess that means your snake mate is dead. How I hated that Rani Naga after what she tried to kill me!"

"Silence you bastard Argost! You may have killed Rani, but her essences lives on in me," Wadi warned.

"Your reign of evil is over Argost. My past self was too lenient letting your kind live before. This time I plan to finish you off for good!" Zak informed his arch enemy. He nodded his head at Wadi and she used her new magic to turn the Reflecting Pool into a giant scrying pool. Everyone watched in wonder as images of Ulraij and his people assisting in Tokyo. Wadi's father was winning the battle in Middle East. Frances, who was no longer blind and was accompanied by a Calygreyhound (antelope body and head, eagle talons and ox hooves), were helping his "father" and agents win their fight. Tsul' Kulu had Munya running for his life. All their human allies along with Rana, Hara, and Rohini were containing/freeing Argost's army. Assisting them were Grootslangs, Bunyips, Nagni Vatus, Jersey Devil, Calopuses, Jinshin-Uwo, The Kumaris, The Hassi, Koerakoonlaseds, Ahools, Atmospheric Jellyfishes, The Fouke Monster.

"It's not possible! How in the world are you freeing my army from my control! You know nothing of your power or you past! You are human child! There is no way you could have gained enough allies to oppose me! Everyone is afraid of you!" Argost screeched. His green eyes were ablaze in fury. At the moment he was connected to every single member of his army. Every cut, every slash he felt, every emotion he would feel and it was magnified a thousand times inside him.

"That's were your wrong Argost! Unlike you I don't use my powers to control and force people to do things they don't want to do. I don't terrorize citizens or destroy cities. For months now I have been using diplomacy to gain friends who agreed to stand by me in the final battle. You're reign of terror ends now. I swear by the blood of my beloved Rani that you will die here! Attack!" His orange eyes glowing so brightly they blotted out everything else.

His army didn't need to be told twice. The Nagas descended upon the mall going after the Mokele Mbembes, Migas, and Mississauga Blob. This was their revenge for the death of their queen. The Nagas led by Anand jumped into the water and started dragging the Migas deeper into freshwater. The creature was putting up a fierce fight pinching them in half, but they kept it up. Finally they tied up its legs. As the small group surfaced they saw Thaman put the ice, literally, on the Mokele Mbembes and the Mississauga Blob. With those beasts under control they turned their sights on defeating a new foe, a deadly Raska aka evil spirit that ate humans.

Wadi was in her element as she rode on the back of BG. The two them were resembled an ancient battle princess riding into war, which was exactly what she was. Using the knowledge left behind by Rani, Wadi used her new lithe body to twist about and plunge her dagger into the sides of cryptids such as Vulpangue and Utukku alike killing the bloody human killers with the silver in her knife. "Come on BG we have to save the Secret Scientists!" Chanting a spell in her native Hassi she increased the speed of BG and they took off as fast as the wind.

Beamman and Gray were encircled by a bunch of ravenous Glawakus, a fearsome creature from lumber jack folklore. These giant half panther/ half bear creatures use to terrorize the lumber jacks, eating anyone who tried to cut down their trees. They were famous also for attacking live stock. At the moment they were eying the two scientists like they were prize bulls. One Glawakus slashed Beamman's laser gun in half and the other one nearly bit off Gray's foot. Miranda fired her gun, but it sparked and sizzled before blowing up in her hand.

"Oh no the power core destabilized. What are we going to do now Arthur?" "I think we better start praying that our end is swift and merciful less," Beamman stated as sarcastically and depressing as he could. The pack of Glawakus growled in delight as they pounced for their prey only to be stopped by a ton of red fur.

BG tackled the leader and started rolling around scratching, biting, and tearing for his throat. The rest of the pack went after Wadi, but she was ready for them. Her new lithe and snaky body slithered and danced just out of the way. Twirling her yo yo above her head she aimed and flung it at the one charging at her like a bolo tying it up. The next two that came at her found themselves bleeding from cuts to their shoulders. Singing the song of the Hassi she used the river water to semi drown the next four who attacked. As the last trio came after her Wadi focused her magical powers to create an invisible pen trapping them. A victory howl from BG let her know he had won his fight to.

"Are you alright you two? Those Glawakus were pretty tough. I say now were even for the Eterno incident."

"Okay little girly last time we saw you, were a thief and didn't have any of these special powers. What did that monster do to you?" Beamman demanded before he was tackled by an angry, threatening BG who didn't like people who badmouthed his master. Even Miranda looked cross at him.

"Zak is not a monster! Incase you haven't noticed my beloved is trying to save the world not destroy it. The monster is the bastard Argost who wants to eliminate all of humanity. It's up to us to help him win this war by defeating him once and for all. The first step to do that is to secure the Flute of Gilgamesh from Argost's clutches before he decides to use it against my King," Wadi informed him.

"Didn't Drew mention that musical instrument could kill the spirit of Kur?"

"Don't even think about it Arthur. We were wrong about Zak and now we have to make up for our past mistakes. Alright Wadi was it? Do you know where this flute is exactly?"

"No, only that Argost has it and will use it as a last resort to kill Zak. It's dangerous for him because he stole his powers from Zak Monday. They may not be the exact same thing, but they are close enough to suffer from should he use it.

Zak was locked in deadly combat against Argost with his family backing him up. He had to maintain a safe distance to prevent the effects from antimatter and matter mixing. Van Rook and Doyle attacked first from above with their grenades, but Argost crushed them with his bare hands. Doc and Drew tried to cut him down to size, but he sent a green energy blast at them knocking them into Fisk and Komodo who were rushing to help. The blast left cuts and burns all over their bodies

"MOM! DAD! Your fight is with me Argost not them! Zon, give me a lift!" Zak commanded. Zon swooped down and scooped him up in his ride. "You may have my abilities, but you know nothing about how to use them! Cercrops, Kitchi-At'husis take his eyes out!"

"_With pleasure Zak! I've been meaning to get that Yeti back!" _Cercrops snarled his mouth barred.

"_I wonder if Yeti tastes like rats! Time to find out!"_ Kitchi-At'husis cackled. The two familiars were absorbing the power from the Hand of Tsul' Kulu. When they were in striking distance they used the absorbed power to stun Argost long enough to bite down on his face, just missing his eyes by a fraction of an inch.

"ARRGGGGGGGG!" Argost bellowed. The two familiars were not letting go no matter how much Argost tried to shake them off. If anything they bit down harder drawing blood. The Hand of Tsul' Kulu was latched onto Argost forehead. Zak was sending his powers through it trying to nullify Argost's own.

"ENOUGH!" The Yeti hollered sending a backlash of antimatter energy through the cable. The pain was so intense Zak lost his grip on the Claw. His weapon and familiars went sent flying towards the White House. Gathering up his energy he hurled a similar attack that disabled him in the Antarctica at Zak and Zon.

"Zon! Drop me and save yourself!"

"What?!" "Just do it! I'll be okay!" he shouted leaping free from Zon's harness. "I really hope I got this spell mastered. _Aerial Flight! Give me wings to soar!" _A pair of golden wings appeared on his back and he flew towards his target, his dagger crackling with magical energy and his Nagamani glowing with an inner fire. "I'm going to kill you!"

"I don't think so Kurling! You're going to die first!" Argost replied. He jumped on top of the teenage king and tried to suffocate him. Zak drove his dagger into Argost's chest missing his heart by inches. All around them the world started to dissolve as matter and antimatter destroyed one another.

"If they stay locked in combat the whole world will be destroyed!" Doc warned.

"ZAK! Get away from him now!" Drew cried. Suddenly the air was filled with a haunting melody and orange sound waves were striking both Zak and Argost. Both of them fell to the ground in agony. "What… what is going on?!"

"That tune, its killing them both!" Van Rook exclaimed. "Look over there!" Doyle shouted, pointing to where Beamman, who had found the fallen instrument, was playing the tune. Miranda, Wadi, and BG were racing towards him to stop him, but they were to far away. "If he keeps playing that Zak's going to die!"

"Beamman stop!"

Beamman ignored them and kept playing inching closer. He wouldn't take a chance that Argost or Zak would survive and destroy humanity. In science sometimes you eliminated the threats no matter what the consequences were.

Zak was withering in pain as the music tore apart his soul. Working through the pain he let his spirit take over a nearby cryptid, a nearby Kere (shaggy, aggressive white furred unicorn from Tibet). Lighting fast he charged Beamman spearing the Flute and flinging it to the ground crushing it under his hooves. Only then did he return to his body in time to see Argost retreating.

"Dammit! He got a way! Better check on the rest of the troops," he muttered. Activating his powers he let him mind touch every one in his alliance. He was talking out loud to them as his family and friends ran up to him.

"Ulraij don't engage the Kraken or the Kelpies without back up from the islanders and the Kudan (a bull with a human head three eyes and honest) to back you up! Have people attack the underbelly! Don't let your city serpent kill it! Bindi tell you're people to back up and then come up from behind with the Nyarvirazi (a female shape shifting lioness from Rwanda). You're going to need her claws and speed to tackle the Nuckaleeve into the lake! Rana, Rohini our forces in South and Central America are having difficulty with the Pihuechenyi (winged vampire snakes from Chili) and the Tawadi (Venezuelan hawk spirit). See what you can do about that. Hara I need you to go help Wadi's dad in the Middle East. The Hassi are up against the Dahak, (three headed dragon whose body is made up of millions of tiny scorpions and lizards.) They're going to need more assistance if they're going to corral that beast. Francis, you and your pet need to have the atmospheric jellyfish distract the beast and then move in! Man commanding an army is tough."

"ZAK! Oh my baby, I was so worried about you. Don't you ever run away from me again! Don't even try to make excuses young man!" Drew said, hugging her son tightly.

Mom…to…tight. Can't…. breathe!"

"Drew let him breath. Zak I'm happy to see alive and well, but what were you thinking? Running off and joining forces with the Nagas? Why didn't you stay home? I could have convinced the other Secret Scientist you weren't a threat," Doc berated him.

"Oh really Mr. Scientist? As I recall they blew up the side of the house to get at the kid just because we didn't want to freeze him. We might not have like the choice he made, but it was the right one in that situation," Doyle said.

"Yeah, especially since this dude wanted to kill Zak along with Argost. Some scientist you are," Van Rook added, carrying a tied up and gagged Beamman who was yelling furiously in his gags. If he had lasers attached to his glasses he would be firing them at Zak.

"This was the easiest catch I've ever caught. You Secret Scientists aren't much of a threat. Nice to see you kid."

"Pleasure to see you Van Rook or do you prefer the title godfather?" Zak teased. Suddenly he was tackled by a red blur that turned out to be BG with Wadi on his back. Wadi jumped off and started crying and kissing him happy to see him alive. Anand arrived with Miranda on his back and Thaman was holding the Claw and two badly injured familiars. "BG I'm okay I'm okay! You can let me up. I'm sorry I worried you my beloved. I should have taken in account about the Flute. Argost wouldn't have just ditched it. Are you okay?"

"I'm still adjusting to my new personality traits, but I'm okay. My heart nearly stopped when I saw how much pain that Flute caused you. I should have gotten to it first. Are you okay my King?" Wadi asked with concern.

"Wadi what's gotten into you? You're not acting like yourself," Drew said confused.

"Let's just say I've gone through my own puberty change. Anand you can put Ms. Gray down now."

"Of course my queen. My Lord Argost has retreated to Weird World to gather his strength, abandoning his army. Our forces have managed to push them back towards their native habitats. You're lieutenants and friends have captured the stranglers and restoring orders. I'm also happy to report that Munya is no more. Tsul' Kulu has taken him out of the picture."

"Good job Anand. Which means the final battle with Argost is coming. Thaman, I know you're against it, but I can't win this fight unless you release the seal and allow my full cryptid form to take control."

"My liege I war you again! There is no guarantee that you'll be able to return to your humanoid form should you do this. There must be another way then allowing you to do battle alone with Argost."

"Who says I'm letting my son battle Argost alone? If he's going to Weird World we're going with him!" Drew exclaimed brandishing her fire sword. "Argost has to pay for what he's done!"

"Drew you can't let anger guide your anger."

"Doc he killed my parents and tried to kill Zak! He has to pay!"

"With that attitude you're going to get yourself killed Drew. I wouldn't want that."

"I agree with Van Rook sis. We'll go after Argost's together and as family take him out. Isn't that right Mini Man?"

"No, Doyle this is something I have to do on my own. I had prophetic dream last night. Should any of you accompany me to Weird World I none of you will make it out alive. Argost plans to kill you and then take my powers for himself. Trust me when I say that this is one fight I have to settle by myself."

"Zak, no I won't let you do this by yourself!"

"I'm afraid you can't stop this Mrs. Saturday. It has been his destiny since his birth. Argost can only be defeated by Kur in one on one battle with no interference. I can't promise you that your son will survive this fight, but I can promise you he'll stop Argost once and for all. You just need to believe in him," Thaman told her. Doc held a crying Drew tightly and his cryptid sibling tried to comfort her, but they knew nothing, but Zak's safe return would. After fixing the claw and healing his familiars he prepared to go meet his end. They all blessed him and gave him comforting touches. Then Thaman chanted an ancient Thai spell and pressed his scaly hand on Zak's forehead. A surge of new energy coursed through his body. "Remember once you activate the transformation there is no turning back. You may never be human again. Also don't get to close otherwise the anti matter and matter will try to explode. You know what to do?"

"I do Thaman. As your King I'm ordering you if I don't make it back alive you are to help Wadi with her new powers and lead the Naga and the new regime towards my goal. No buts about it just do it. Family, I love you all and I hope to see you soon. Miranda zaps to Weird World!" Five seconds later Zak was in Weird World.

"_Zak, I'm scared, what if your plan fails?" _Cercrops asked.

"Then I use I guess we have no choice, but to use the back up plan won't we?"

"_But we don't even know if that could work! Zak's __it's never been tested! We don't want you to die, now that we finally started calling you by your real name!" _Kitchi-At'husis wailed.

Zak had no chance to retort as they came under attack by Argost. He was no longer wearing his clothes but in his natural form and he was huge. Green energy bathed his entire body. He wasn't even bothering to talk anymore having reverted to his primary instincts. Running on the side of the wall he came charging for his prey, fangs barred and claws out. Zak extended the Claw and pole vaulted over him. Spinning his weapon like a baton he whacked Argost in the back of the head. The Hand of Tsul' Kulu latched on trying to rip off Argost skull, but it was too thick. Zak had no choice, but to retract and grapple for the ceiling to escape. He swung from tile to tile avoiding energy blast. The closer Argost got the more Weird World started coming apart at the seams. Zak let out a scream of pain as an energy blast tore through his armor and cut a five inch hole in his side. He was in a lot of pain and he tried to heal himself, but soon he was under attack by Argot!

"ARGGGGGGG! GET OFF ME!" Zak screamed, blindly reaching for his Claw, but it was just out of reach. Argots ripped his armor shredding it pieces. Once Zak's armor was gone and his flesh exposed Argost began biting him! Blood was spewing everywhere and the Nagamani was pulsating crazily trying to heal his wounds.

"I'm going to carve your heart out and eat it you Kur! Once I've digested your heart the true power of Kur will at last be mine!"

"I DON'T THINK SO ARGOST!" Zak shouted using his magical powers to telekinetically lift the Yeti off his body and throw him through not one, not two, not three, but _four_ walls! Zak stood up clasped his hands together in prayer fashion. "I was hoping to avoid this, but it can't be done. The only way to end this is to invoke the power of my past self. To abandon my humanity forever and embrace my cryptid side in one shot chance at killing you. _Seal of Kur Release: Human Cryptid Exchange!"_

Zak was lifted into the air by an orange cocoon of light and power. Pain shot through every part of his body. Creaks and groans could be heard as body parts rearrange themselves. Cries of agony echoed off the walls as the magic that held his cryptid DNA in check unlocked itself allowing it full reign, Within seconds Zak was no longer human. Instead he looked like his old Naga form, but with dragon wings, tail, and talons. He was a mix of his old past life and his new one.

"Finally you show your true form and not that pathetic disguise you wore! This is for all my ancestors who couldn't finish the job sooner!" Argost shouted using his own powers to transform him into a twenty foot tall Yeti. He bellowed and Kur roared spewing fire from his nostrils. Kur flapped his massive wings and took the skies destroying the roof of the building.

Taking a deep breath he let loose a stream of fire that Argost countered with an ice ball. Kur dodged the attack with an aerial ballet coiling his snaky tail around Argost right arm constricting the blood flow to that arm. Argost bit into the tail and it snapped right off, but the damage was done. The arm was useless. So like King Kong, Argost got on top of the remains of his home and started throwing punches at Kur. Kur responded by raking his talons drawing blood. Switching tactics Kur used his super elongating neck to land a bloody bite to the head taking out Argost's eyes! Argost bellowed so loudly it was heard world wide.

Blindly he reached out and latched onto Kur. The tricky Yeti pulled out his annelids and attached them to his under belly. Kur took to the air trying to shake his passenger, but he held on tightly. More and more power was sucked out of Kur. Finally he had reached a height of three thousand feet when the last of his power was sucked into Argost. "At last the power of Kur is all mine! You are finished! HA HA HA HA HA! WHAT? What's happening to me? This doesn't feel like power?" Argost screeched as his body was literally being torn apart from the inside.

Kur's eyes glowed orange locking onto Argost's blind ones. Kur's voice whispered inside his head explaining the truth. "I knew you would take my powers and I knew that if you did I would die and the world would be in danger thanks to a dream. So I deposited the majority of my power into my familiars during their attack on you. I used the last of it to force this transformation. What you absorbed was my positively charged magic, it's similar to matter and when mixed with your antimatter body you will blow up. To ensure your death I'm going down with you. Good bye Argost!"

At the peak of Kur climb he dive bombed towards the ground. It rushed up towards him faster and faster. He dug his talons deep into Argost skin keeping him from escape. The explosion happened as they collided with the remains of Weird World. It was over the threat of Argost and a war was gone.

_Zak Saturday was fully human again and back in his traditional outfit. He was hover in the air, his eyes closed and a look of peace on his face. He was waiting for a white light to take him to his final reward when the way was blocked by the orange glowing outline of a monstrous dragon. _

"_What? What's going on? I thought I was dead?"_

"_No, not yet. You are on the edge of death. The explosion forced you to revert to your full human form. Your familiars are injecting your powers back into you as you requested. Your family, friends, and subjects are waiting for you to wake up. But the choice is yours."_

"_Choice? What choice is there?"_

"_The choice to continue living knowing that a vast majority of people will never understand you. That you will always walk to road half human and half cryptid. You must also be ready to face the very real possibility that your dreams of a peaceful coexistence between humans and cryptids may never pass. Finally; the chance that you will once again be called into action to save the world. It's more than a normal 13 year old should have to deal with. Are you willing to take that risk?" _

"_I was willing to die for those dreams. I'm willing to live with them too. Send me back," Zak said._

"_Very good my future self. I knew I chose wisely for my incarnation. We will meet again."_

Zak woke up on the airship surrounded by family and friends. He was completely human again and everyone was cheering that he had finished off Argost. Reports from the news came pouring in as the cryptids were dealt with. Zak knew he had a long road ahead of him in creating a peaceful world for both his people, but he was willing to do it. It was his destiny.


End file.
